Latest news with #Macallan
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
The Macallan Scotch whisky owner flags 'hostile' environment
And Edrington highlighted the fact its 'core contribution' measure of profits in the year to March 31 was, in spite of a 28% fall during the period, still 38% ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Edrington, which this week completed the sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt brands to William Grant & Sons, reported a 26% fall in pre-tax profits before exceptional items to £274.4m for the year to March 31. Core revenue fell by 10% to £912m, with the group flagging a 'challenging economic environment' and reduced consumer demand in international markets. Edrington said: 'After a period of industry-leading growth, during which the business has grown significantly, this has been a period in which Edrington experienced the full-year impact of reduced consumer demand.' Read more The Scotch Whisky Association reported in February that the overall value of Scotch exports fell by 3.7% to £5.4 billion in 2024. And it observed then that global trading conditions remained 'turbulent' at the beginning of 2025. Edrington said today: 'The decline in sales was broadly consistent across international markets, with exceptions including a resilient performance by Brugal rum in the Dominican Republic and The Macallan in South Korea and Japan. The Macallan 12, 15 and 18-year-old expressions continued to grow in China and the company saw high consumer demand for products launched to celebrate The Macallan's 200th anniversary.' Edrington flagged increased production and employment costs in the context of the 28% fall in core contribution to £291.4m in the year to March 31. Core contribution is defined by Edrington as profits from its branded sales and distribution after the deduction of overheads on a constant-currency basis. Edrington, which also owns The Glenrothes single malt, observed: 'Core contribution was 38% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.' Scott McCroskie, chief executive of Edrington, said: 'After several years of unprecedented growth for premium spirits and industry-leading results posted by Edrington, the business felt the full effect of the global economic downturn during the year. 'Our focus on ultra-premium spirits has driven Edrington's growth in recent years and we have continued to execute our strategy despite the hostile trading environment. This includes further strategic investments in our sherry cask supply chain and in reducing our carbon footprint.' Edrington's principal shareholder is The Robertson Trust, which has donated £396m to charitable causes in Scotland since 1961. Noting Edrington's completion of its sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt brands to William Grant & Sons on July 1, Mr McCroskie declared: 'This reflects our choice to focus on the premium end of the market, where we are best placed to compete.' He added: 'Looking ahead, the political and economic backdrop remains volatile, which we expect will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment in the coming year. We believe top-line growth will be difficult to come by in this environment, although adjustments to overheads and brand investment are expected to align net sales and core contribution more closely next year. 'Edrington's strategic focus on ultra-premium spirits remains effective. We will continue to execute it to strengthen our brands and our business for the long-term benefit of our investors, our employees, and those who benefit from our own and our principal shareholder's charitable activities.' Edrington employs more than 3,000 people in its wholly owned and joint venture companies, with over half employed outside the UK. It distributes its brands to more than 100 countries.
Business Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Sweet endings at Coda
[SINGAPORE] The centrepiece of many watering holes is a gleaming display of liquor bottles behind the bar, in a parade of familiar brand names. Yet what is striking at Coda isn't this visual cue, but its glaring absence. There are no bottles behind the bar, nor brand names on the menu. These omissions were the deliberate choice of owner Michel Lu. The aim is to encourage customers to judge each drink 'on its own merit', rather than rely on recognisable names to form conclusions, he said. 'I wanted this to be a clean and pure space,' said Lu, who also founded pan-Asian craft spirits brand The Orientalist Spirits. 'It's not about whether this is a Macallan cocktail, or an Orientalist Spirits cocktail. What matters are the flavours, and how you enjoy the drink.' A space within a space Getting to Coda is so tricky that guests who make reservations receive a text message with directions. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up First, take an escalator to the second floor of the InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay. Next, push past curtains on the right to enter a dim, box-like room lined with mirrors. Finally, locate a blinking blue sensor beside a candle – a wave of the hand will trigger a door to open into Coda's main 16-seater room. The experience is meant to be disorienting, said Lu. 'When you first arrive, you're like, 'What do I do?' We wanted a portal that would insulate the actual space, so that we'd never be disrupted by light or sound.' At Coda, there are no bottles behind the bar. By removing visible alcohol brands, owner Michel Lu aims to encourage customers to judge each drink 'on its own merit'. PHOTO: CODA Coda's interior is minimalist, with small tables along a long leather couch and a few armchairs. An adjoining 10-seater room is usually closed to the public, but can be booked for private events. Soft furnishings – a carpeted floor, false suede ceiling and thick curtains – create a cosy cocoon while absorbing sound. Warm cove lighting and a gentle woody fragrance complete the vibe. In the spotlight – literally – is a custom-built bar counter near the centre of the room. As the only spot with direct lighting, the bar was designed to resemble a stage, with the bartender as its star, said Lu. The open concept also invites guests to even go behind the counter to speak with the bartender. A coda is the concluding segment of a piece of music or literary work. General manager Treyna Zhang hopes the bar can similarly be a place where customers round off their day. 'We look forward to being that sweet spot, that little happy ending for you at the end.' Spotlighting Asian spirits and flavours Coda's cocktail menu features 16 signature tipples in four sections, each themed after a different mood. For instance: tranquillity for Blue Hour, eternal happiness for Elysian Fields, chaos for Fragmented Consciousness, and bliss for Chasing Fireflies. Blue Hour – an actual term that refers to the period just before sunrise or after sunset – thus features subtler flavours, while Fragmented Consciousness offers experimental options that incorporate unlikely ingredients from kimchi to artichoke. At Coda, Asian spirits and flavours are the focus – beginning with a complimentary welcome drink of local black tea infused with bergamot liqueur, inspired by a classic negroni. 'Whether you're from South Asia, China, South Korea, Japan or Taiwan, tea unites Asia. The West drinks tea, but it's from Asia,' said Lu, noting that several cocktails on the menu contain tea notes. These include the bar's bestseller, the Coda Martini, in which vodka is mixed with rooibos tea and tieguanyin, then finished off with a dash of Calvados. The bar's bestseller is the Coda Martini, in which vodka is mixed with rooibos tea and tieguanyin, then finished off with a dash of Calvados. PHOTO: CODA While it is a spin on the classic vodka martini, other drinks stray further from their source. A re-imagining of the Singapore Sling, the cocktail Fling retains only the original recipe's gin base and pineapple juice. 'The Singapore Sling is a very dated, sexist drink from colonial times; it's not a great drink, but it represents Singapore,' said Lu. 'I felt it was time to create something more befitting of Singapore today.' Fling is a variation of the Singapore Fling, which Lu launched in 2024 at Marina Bay Sands' Spago Bar & Lounge. 'Back then, I had actually created the Singapore Fling as a contemporary take on the Singapore Sling,' he explained. 'But we wanted to do a more elegant and cleaner version for Coda, which resulted in Fling.' The Singapore Fling and Fling share a recipe: a gin base infused with chrysanthemum, snow pear and red dates, then combined with Lillet rose, hibiscus sour plum tea, pineapple juice, calamansi juice and ginger flower water. The difference is in the execution: the Singapore Fling is shaken, while Fling is clarified. Those looking to turn up the heat can order Smoke, Coda's only hot cocktail. Described by Lu as an 'Asian-style' hot toddy, Smoke is a blend of three whiskeys; honey lemon fermented for two-and-a-half years; and the Japanese roasted tea iribancha, for an extra touch of smokiness. Besides cocktails, Coda offers limited categories of beer, sake, champagne and wine. A Japanese food menu will be launched in July, and will offer a la carte dishes such as udon, bara chirashi and sashimi. Fling
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
6 whisky distilleries to visit in Scotland this summer
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Pagoda chimneys rising above pine-forested glens, the babble of a highland spring, the distinctive aroma of toasted malt — distilleries are far more than functional factories. Often set in spectacular settings, they're crucibles of living, breathing Scottish heritage. And many invite visitors inside to view bubbling mash tuns, gleaming copper stills and warehouses filled with oak barrels, revealing the almost alchemical process that turns a few simple, local ingredients — barley, yeast, spring water — into fiery, golden spirits. Monasteries were Scotland's first de facto distilleries, putting rain-soaked grain to good use, with the earliest recorded mention of this 'water of life' (uisge beatha in Gaelic) dating from 1494. Today, there are over 150 active distilleries nationwide, falling into five officially recognised regions. Covering much of the mainland and islands, Highland is the largest and most diverse, while Speyside carves out a slice of the north east, and Lowlands lies just north of the English border. The peat-heavy Hebridean island of Islay gets its own designation, as does Campbeltown, a wee, southwesterly peninsula. Visitor experiences run the gamut from rustic, hard-hat tours to bespoke 'bottle your own single-malt cask' offerings — and some of these are seriously high-end. The Glenrothes private estate's multi-day experience, for example, costs a whopping £250,000. Most tastings will offer 'drivers' drams' — miniature pours to take home — meaning whoever's behind the wheel doesn't miss out. And with more distilleries adding restaurants, bars or overnight stays, even Scotch sceptics can find something to savour. Small in size, but big on character, Deanston's unpretentious, experimental attitude has resulted in waxy, honeyed, full-bodied drams with a cult following — including a 15-year-old single malt finished in tequila casks. Deanston even looks different to most distilleries — the red-brick, riverside buildings were in fact an 18th-century cotton mill, before they were converted to whisky-making in 1966. The place still hums with hydropower: one of the greenest scotch brands around, the whisky here is made from organic grain sourced from local farmers. Book the Warehouse No 4 experience, in Deanston's former cooperage, for direct-from-cask tastings and an atmospheric whisky-ageing education. Or compare some of its Master Blender's favourite, hard-to-find past releases on the Old & Rare Tasting. How to do it: £25 per person (Distillery Tour); £40 per person (Warehouse No 4 Experience); £130 per person (Old & Rare Tasting). There's a hint of Bond villain's lair about this Speyside distillery's sleek, subterranean architecture, which has been the brand's home since 2018, rippling beneath a wildflower-covered roof (fittingly, the 007 movies feature a few Macallan cameos). Within cathedral-height interiors, an interactive archive showcases 200 years of whisky-making heritage and limited-edition bottles, which resemble artworks. The central bar serves drams dating back 80 years, classic cocktails and tutored tastings — The Story of Oak, for instance, compares how sherry-seasoned casks impart Macallan's signature notes of dried fruits, ginger and cinnamon. Its culinary credentials are also next level: the team have collaborated with Spain's three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca at its fine-dining restaurant TimeSpirit, and The Macallan Mastery Experience tour concludes with a six-course tasting menu here. All this makes The Macallan the cream of Speyside visitor experiences — no mean feat given this region has the highest concentration of distilleries. How to do it: £50 per person (The Story of Oak); £250 per person (The Macallan Mastery Experience). Islay punches above its weight with powerful, peat-rich styles and nine active distilleries. Alongside established names like Lagavulin and Laphroaig, the buzz is all about Port Ellen: this Kilnaughton Bay landmark reopened in 2024 after a 40-year closure and £185m makeover. It's a dazzling, steel-and-glass temple to carbon-neutral whisky innovation, where handbuilt replicas of original copper stills stand beside the world's first 10-part spirit safe and a Scandi-chic, ocean-view tasting lounge. While new expressions are maturing, aficionados can nose the distilleries new-make spirit and draw from a 1979 vintage cask on the Port Ellen Reborn tour, uncovering the mineral, smoky soul of this phoenix-like brand. How to do it: Book well in advance for free, monthly open days (reservations essential); £250 per person (Port Ellen Reborn). Overlooking a sea loch on the myth-steeped Isle of Skye, Talisker's peaty whiskies are as rugged and elemental as its setting. Take the classic 10-Year-Old: a bracing ocean breeze on the nose, followed by black pepper and bonfire smoke. No wonder Talisker was one of Robert Louis Stevenson's reasons for calling whisky 'the king o' drinks'. Thanks to big investment from international drinks powerhouse Diageo, Talisker's raft of visitor experiences goes well beyond classic tours, including chocolate and whisky-pairing tastings, an offshoot of Michelin-recommended restaurant The Three Chimneys and a state-of-the-art visitor centre for multi-sensory storytelling about Talisker's wave-lashed heritage. Linger in the Campfire Bar for a dram or whisky-based cocktail — the venue sometimes hosts live folk music sets, too. How to do it: £20 per person (Talisker Made By The Sea Tasting Experience); £35 per person (Whisky & Chocolate Tasting). In its Victorian heyday, Campbeltown was hailed as the world's whisky capital and was home to 32 distilleries within one tiny patch of Argyll's Atlantic-lashed Kintyre Peninsula. That figure's now fallen to just three, making family-owned Springbank both survivor and standard-bearer — notably, it's one of Scotland's only distilleries to complete 100% of the whisky-making process on site, from floor malting to bottling. The briny, oily character of Springbank's signature single malt — layered with smoky, grassy notes — reflects its coastal location, and the original 1828 building is an atmospheric labyrinth of cobbled courtyards and coal-fired kilns. Out of its various tours and tastings, Barley to Bottle is the most hands-on, access-all-areas option, letting guests create their own bottle of whisky in the Blending Laboratory, followed by a seafood lunch. How to do it: £15 per person (standard tour); £250 per person (Barley to Bottle). With its delicate, floral profile, Auchentoshan's sometimes dubbed 'the breakfast whisky', as well as 'Glasgow's malt', since the city's only a 20-minute drive away. Whisky newbies and sweet tooths can often be converted by its lighter, creme brulee character. That silkiness and clarity is the result of triple distillation — a process Lowland whiskies are renowned for — and the Auchentoshan Ultimate Tour details each stage. The space itself is fittingly clean-lined, light-filled and refined, with windows framing the Kilpatrick Hills. How to do it: £20 per person (Origin Tour); £45 per person (Cask Exploration); £75 per person (Ultimate Tour). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Glasgow Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow hotel to mark Father's Day with James Bond event
Kimpton Blythswood Square in Glasgow is offering a whisky-themed evening of film and cocktails as part of its monthly cinema club, featuring a screening of the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger. The event will take place on Saturday, June 14, and includes a welcome whisky cocktail and a guided tasting of The Macallan single malt whiskies. Read more: Glasgow restaurant offer free pie and pint for Father's Day Dishoom confirms it will open city centre restaurant this summer Guests will be treated to a tasting experience that explores the story and craftsmanship behind each Macallan pour. The evening, ticket at £30 per person, will conclude in the hotel's 44-seat boutique cinema, where the audience can enjoy the suspense and style of Goldfinger on the big screen. Marcello Ventisei, general manager at Kimpton Blythswood Square, said: "This perfect partnership between The Macallan and the Kimpton Blythswood Square cinema club is a wonderful way to celebrate the father figure in your life and make them feel as suave as Mr Bond. "From an exclusive drinks experience to the thrill of a classic film like Goldfinger, this experience is sure to be a hit amongst whisky fans and film fanatics alike."
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Glenrothes 51 Year Old And The Death Of Whisky As We Knew It
What does it say about whisky today that you have to break this open just to see what's inside? Opening a bottle of whiskey is always, in some sense, an act of destruction. Regardless of its value, the moment the seal is broken, the bottle is stripped of its monetary worth on the secondary market. Sure, there's the pleasure of drinking it, but from a purely commercial standpoint, that moment marks the loss of financial value. This idea isn't new. But The Glenrothes 51 Year Old (priced at $46,500) takes the concept of deliberate destruction to another level. To even see the bottle, let alone taste the liquid inside, you must first destroy the casing that holds it. The whisky comes housed inside a cylindrical column made from Jesmonite, which is a composite of mineral powder (like gypsum or chalk) and water based resin. It looks more like a piece of contemporary sculpture than traditional packaging. It also comes with a branded hammer. Why? Because the only way to access the whisky is to smash open the column. It's arguably the pinnacle of whisky consumerism and a masterstroke of gimmickry. But to dismiss it on those terms alone would be reductive. The Glenrothes 51 Year Old isn't just a novelty in packaging or a marketing gimmick. It's a near-perfect example of how whisky has evolved beyond its traditional role as simply a drink. It encapsulates the broader shift I've written about in other articles: that whisky today is less about flavor or intoxication and more about symbolism, ownership and cultural capital. Reducing whisky to its 'use value', that is, something to be consumed, is to ignore the wider meanings we've collectively assigned to it. And, arguably, the entire industry has benefitted from this shift. Is this the first whisky release where the bottle, and the whisky itself, has been deliberately kept out of sight? The Glenrothes 51 embraces that transformation with almost theatrical clarity. The whisky itself is hidden until the owner chooses to destroy the column that encases it. Destruction is no longer a flaw in the process; it's the entire point. The act of opening the bottle becomes a ritual of transformation. And in doing so, the release lays bare how much of modern whisky culture is built around the object, not the liquid. Critics of this view often argue that collectors or investors have undermined whisky for the everyday drinker. But that's to overlook how the industry itself has shaped this landscape. Distilleries have spent decades building narratives around new releases, presenting each bottle as limited, special and aesthetically curated. Of course, there's a spectrum, with Macallan and Glenrothes sitting at the more theatrical end, with releases like the Macallan Horizon or the Glenrothes Philos. But even independent bottlers now frequently list edition numbers on labels and commission artists to design bespoke labels. Even Springbank—often held up as a kind of anti-brand—recently released the Countdown Collection: a highly limited series aimed squarely at collectors. Its scarcity invites not just appreciation but FOMO. It's a series meant to be pursued, not just consumed. What I admire most about the Glenrothes 51 is that it doesn't pretend otherwise. It's refreshingly honest about the fact that most bottles will never be opened. It makes no attempt to position itself solely on the strength of the liquid inside, and in doing so, it offers a rare kind of clarity about what whisky has become. Collector's Club founders John (left) and Scott (right) with the Glenrothes 51 whisky bottle inside its column Given the $46,500 price tag and the private nature of many collectors, I'd wager that very few of these bottles will ever be destroyed, or enjoyed. But one chance remains to actually see the bottle and taste the whisky. The Collectors Club Competitions, a UK-based raffle platform, is offering one Glenrothes 51 Year Old bottle as a prize, with tickets priced at just $2 (£1.51). The winner will receive their bottle during a tasting dinner hosted by Michelin-starred chef Graeme Cheevers and the Glenrothes team, held at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Coincidentally, the hotel itself is somewhere I stayed on my honeymoon many moons ago. There's a certain irony here. A bottle quite literally designed to be destroyed will almost certainly never be, at least not by those who can afford to buy it. But this competition offers a sliver of hope. Hope that one day, someone will have both the means and the mindset to smash it open, pour a dram and share what lies inside. For me, I really appreciate the Glenrothes 51 year old on a number of levels. I've no doubt the whisky inside will be excellent, but what stands out just as much is the thinking behind it. The design, the philosophy and the honesty of the concept; it's all carefully considered and bold. If Glenrothes keeps heading in this direction, combining great whisky with design integrity, I think we'll be seeing their name mentioned in the same breath as Macallan, Bowmore and Dalmore more and more in the years ahead.
