When it comes to whiskey, McAllen is definitely an unavoidable name. Known as the "Rolls-Royce" of the whisky world, McAllen is not only the favorite of whisky collectors, but also the most watched focus of spirits auctions.
As one of the most collectible single malt whiskies, Macallan has many high-end wines: like the Macallan Laili series, the Macallan Rare Series, the Macallan 1824 Master Collection, and the Macallan Red Collection released last year, are all proper super luxury goods.
Just after the Spring Festival of 2021, the McAllen Luxury Club has a new member: McAllen released a collection of collectible --- "The Macallan Anecdotes of Ages Collection" on its official website on February 17, 2021. It can be said that at that time, it once again caused a sensation in the entire whisky collection circle.
McAllen collaborated for the third time with the master of the arts Peter Blake
Launched by McAllen alongside world-renowned British pop artist Sir Peter Blake, the series is the third collaboration between their old friends to commemorate McAllen's rich heritage and Blake's remarkable contribution to the art world.
The collection contains 13 unique bottles of whisky distilled in 1967. The reason for choosing the 1967 vintage is also said, on the one hand, because of its classic wine quality and colorful personality; On the other hand, it was because 1967 was the first year of Blake's autograph collage from art to pop culture.
The 13 original bottles are hand-blown and bear Blake's signature on the label. The outer packaging is a beautiful European handmade oak box that also includes a photo album, a leather-bound storybook, and a certificate of authenticity. Very well placed!
The 13 wines of the "Anecdotes of the Times Series", all with an alcohol content of 46.7% ABV and a capacity of 700ml (750ml in the US version), are matured into barrels of unknown shape, and in addition to clarifying the limited edition of one of them, the number of bottles of the other 12 is also unknown.
13 artistic wine labels, 13 legendary histories
Here's a look at these 13 art labels and the legends behind them:
1. Easter Elch estate estate
The epic-mighty Estate of East Elch has been home to McAllen since 1824, and on this label, Blake introduces five "local residents" against a backdrop of sunny meadows and lush woods: highland cattle, wild deer, pheasants, hares and, rarely, red squirrels. It expresses McAllen's continued spirit of hard work and commitment to sustainable development of the land.
2. THE OLD FARM
Before the establishment of the estate, agriculture was fundamental to the area, and horsepower was the main mode of transportation. At first, they were used to transport crops such as oats and barley, and later to transport whiskey in oak barrels to ships and trains, so these hard-working horses deserved a place in the bottle.
3. Winemaking License (A LICENCE TO DISTIL)
In 1824, McAllen became one of the first distilleries in Scotland to obtain a wine license, and the achievement was achieved by the elder brother named Alexander Reed, who was originally an English teacher, and later went to sea to become a farmer and began to brew whisky. As for the appearance of fire trucks and sheep in the back, it is because 1824 was the time when the first municipal fire brigade in Britain was established, and the year of the sheep in 1967, when the liquor was distilled, happened to be the Year of the Sheep in the Chinese lunar calendar.
4. The Macallan Mausoleum
The building in the label is the mausoleum of the noble Grant, which, together with the figure of the tartan cloak, represents a meditation on the past. And the two boxing hares contrast with each other, full of vitality and symmetry.
5. The Giant and the Fish
The giant here refers to Roderick Camp, the owner of the McAllen Distillery from 1892 to 1909---. Camp loved fishing as a young man and was keen to generously share his catch with the anglers around him who found nothing, and among those he helped was a vintner who later passed on to Kemp what he had learned all his life, and this knowledge was greatly applied after Kemp took over the Estate of East Elch.
6. JOURNEY TO MARKET
In 1920, with the purchase of a 3.5-ton steam car by then-distillery operator Janet Hutson, it meant that modern industrial technology had finally arrived at the distillery. The "Iron Horse" began to transport McAllen's whiskies away from the winery more stably, eventually reaching markets around the world.
7. Domestic cattle, barley and potatoes (CATTLE, BARLEY AND POTATOES)
Since the establishment of the distillery, livestock and farming have coexisted harmoniously on this land, and during the First World War, a large number of potatoes were planted to enable the local people to survive. The horse and cow in the label symbolize these two industries, and barley, as a raw material for winemaking, plays an important role in the life of the McAllen Estate.
8. FAMILY LIFE AND WORK
In 1918, at the end of World War I, Janet Hutbense became McAllen's co-administrator. During her 20-year tenure, the legendary businesswoman, in addition to her outstanding job, dedicated herself to supporting and protecting the wives and widows of the winery workers. The motorcycle and car in the background, and the dog in her arms, depict her calm and elegant family life.
9. Easter Elchies House
This house is the spiritual home of McAllen and is featured on every bottle of McAllen's wine label. The house was built at least in 1453, later destroyed in war, and rebuilt in 1700 by the aforementioned aristocratic Grant family. During World War II, the house was requisitioned for military purposes until the end of the war. The label is created in black and white, reflecting the dark days that McAllen spent.
10. DOWN TO WORK LIMITED EDITION
This is awesome and is a limited edition! Limited to 322 bottles worldwide, priced at £50,000. What's so different about this wine? It is because its label tells a very important story: in the 1970s, under the pressure of business, McAllen still insisted on using expensive sherry barrels, and it was this dedication that made McAllen today.
11. The River SPEY
The Spey River is the iconic river of the Spey region and one of the richest salmon rivers in the world, flowing through 7 wineries, including McAllen, providing them with a steady stream of clear springs for whisky making. In 1991, McAllen became the only winery in Scotland with fishing rights over the River Spit, and the distillery's master brewer, George Lott, invented McAllen's own fishing tools and methods during his tenure, a bottle of wine that is also a tribute to the River Spit.
12. A NEW ERA OF ADVERTISING
The label reflects a turning point in Macallan's history when Macallan began launching its first official commercial in the 1970s. The commercial first mentioned The McAllen 'quirky little still' and insisted on using sherry barrels. The auction will be held in March 2021 to raise funds to support the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
13. A NEW DISTILLERY
The last wine label, I believe you must be quite familiar with, this is McAllen's latest distillery. The building is one of the most spectacular and advanced distilleries in the world, and the six people in the picture are the biggest names in McAllen's current brewing team.
A little surprise: a spin-off in the Anecdotes of the Times series
In addition to the 13 wines mentioned above, the Anecdotes of the Times series also contains a "Fan Wai" called: Estate, Community and Distillery. According to the official website, this wine is specially created to commemorate Blake's first visit to McAllen Manor. The label illustrations were also designed by Blake himself using digital technology.
This special version is also an ageless, ageless version with an alcohol content of 47.7%, which is slightly higher than the above 13 models. The capacity is 700ml (750ml for the US version), and the number of bottles is not disclosed.
Part of the quota for the wine was sold by lottery on McAllen's official website at the time, and the registration deadline for the lottery was 14:00 UK time on 24 February 2021, and the lottery price was £750.
McAllen and Peter Blake's first two collaborations have been exceptionally successful
Finally, let's review the two previous collaborations between McAllen and Peter Blake.
Sir McAllen Peter Blake Whisky 1926
Peter Blake, the godfather of pop art, has worked with the McAllen brand many times during his long career, the first of which dates back to 1986, when he designed a Label for a McAllen 1926 rare high vintage whisky.
Produced in 1926, these whiskies spent 60 years in vats before being bottled. Subsequently, McAllen commissioned pop artists Valerio Adami and Peter Blake to design a limited edition package for him, with 12 bottles designed by Adam mi and 12 bottles designed by Blake.
Designed by Adam Mi on the left and designed by Blake on the right: Designed by Valerio Adam mi on the left, Design by Peter Blake on the right
This cooperation was a great success! In 2018, 2 of these bottles of 1926 were acquired by an anonymous buyer in Dubai for a world record $1.2 million. In May of the same year, another bottle of Sir Macallan Peter Blake was sold for $1,014,422 by Bonhams Auction House in Hong Kong for 1926.
Sir McAllen's 80-year journey to commemorate the wine box
The second collaboration was in 2012, in honor of Sir Peter Blake's 80th birthday, McAllen created and released this worldwide limited edition of 250 sets of commemorative wine boxes that can be called art-class wine boxes.
This box contains eight unique 50ml mini bottles of whisky, spanning from 1937 to 2002 with alcohol concentrations ranging from 52% to 62%. It fully demonstrates the creative inspiration and wine characteristics of Peter Blake and McAllen at various stages of their 80 years.
This series did not find the specific transaction price, but from the poly auction webpage, it was learned that the starting price of this set of works reached about 80,000 yuan, and a store of a treasure even advertised that there was a spot, with a price of more than 120,000. As a set of small wine version of the series, it can sell at this price, which is also a sky-high price!
It is not difficult to find that several series of McAllen and Peter Blake have been greatly successful. It is estimated that the "Anecdote Series of the Times" has set off a storm in the collection circle