A 55th anniversary might not immediately strike you as a landmark, but we should never let such arbitrary rules get in the way of a good dram.
That seems to be the ethos at The Macallan after it launched a new whisky to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.
It’s the second time The Macallan has bottled something in honor of 007, after celebrating the franchise’s 60th year (a definite landmark) with the release of six bottles in 2022. Although this new release doesn’t have quite the same synergies as that brand partnership, it is nonetheless a wonderful whisky with some rather lovely design touches to boot.
The whisky is an age-stated vintage from 2007 and, rather unusually, uses Rioja red wine casks mixed with sherry-seasoned American and European oak. At an intimate launch event inside Duke’s Hotel, London, lead whisky maker Russell Grieg said red wine casks are extremely rare within the distillery’s aging stocks.
Although the cask may have been selected to fall in line with the film’s plot (Bond’s knowledge of wine helps him defeat the bad guys), it’s also the most interesting thing about this whisky. Drinkers rarely get the chance to experience anything other than sherry-seasoned Macallan, and this has an extra juicy touch that hints at a significant influence from those wine casks.
This bottle is not cheap (£600 / $820), but it’s also a very good Speyside whisky. Anyone already endeared to The Macallan’s sherry-seasoned style will fall in love with this. For Bond fans, as the liquid goes down, a piece of the film’s script begins to appear on the inside of the label.
