The Macallan Lumina

The Macallan classic Single Malt with a fruit-forward profile reaching to combine the best of old and new.

Founded in 1824, The Macallan is one of the "Big 3" Single Malts in Scotland. Fortunately, they have achieved this scale without sacrificing quality. A change in UK labeling laws aced them out of their "Speyside" designation. But just because the British Parliament gerrymandered the "official" boundaries doesn’t mean Whisky-lovers have to pay any attention.

Their achievements are numerous — including setting the record price ever paid at auction for a single bottle of Scotch. They produce a very broad range of world-class Single Malt Whiskies that have a huge global following.

When you reach the pinnacle of Single Malt expressions like The Macallan has, you are liberated to explore dozens of special releases and Single Malt experiments. The Quest Collection is all about special combinations of casks — a quest for wood. There are four different Single Malts in the collection.

The Macallan Lumina was the second release in the Quest range. They wanted to create an Old World Spirit with a New World influence, so they adjusted the wood recipe to include only ex-Sherry casks — first-fill ex-Sherry made from American and European oak and refill hogsheads. The Sherry influence is definitely there, but this flavor profile leans back heavily on autumn fruits, toffee, and grain notes. The Quest Collection is normally only available in the travel retail market, so grab a bottle while you can.


Smartass Corner:
The word "Lumina" refers to "light" or "illumination."