Murakami Haruki said that good wine does not travel far. For a sip of whisky in his heart's desire, he and his wife traveled far and wide to Scotland, resulting in the whisky industry's best-selling travelogue "If Our Language Were Whisky".
For the definition of good sake, Murakami Haruki has his own insistence. But I think good wine can go far because whisky has a memory. Whenever I opened the cap of The Macallan, distant messages from Speycer resurfaced in the textured liquor.
The pandemic temporarily blocked our path to the winery, however, it did not prevent us from enjoying a good glass of wine. Last week, The Macallan opened its first duty-free boutique in Haikou Chinese mainland, and as one of the first drinkers and whisky hardcore enthusiasts, I found the key to the Speyside distillery in this "Macallan Whisky House".
【Sincere Guest House】
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A glass of Macallan amber liquor offers a glimpse of the winemaking process – the ultra-small pot still maximizes the richness of taste, the outstanding oak barrel brings a heartfelt mellow taste, and the centuries-old winemaking philosophy and hometown spirit are hidden behind the winemaking process.
The spiritual home of The Macallan
It can be seen that The Macallan's liquor has a memory. Speycer's memory dates back to 1543, when a hardworking farmer laid the first hoe on the legendary land, which Captain John Grant transformed into a community and built the Easter Elchies House in 1700. In 2018, a new distillery and visitor experience centre atop the Macallan estate was completed and opened to the public.
The new McCarran distillery in 2018
In the following four years, in Shanghai, China, the director witnessed the opening of The Macallan's world's first experience center, the world's first large-scale experience exhibition "The Source of Alcohol: The Macallan Art Experience Exhibition", and the "Alcoholland Space" tasting exhibition that opened last summer and drew inspiration from different cities.
Every experience and exhibition is a gluttony on the tip of the tongue, a feast for the eyes, and a sublimation of the senses. The Macallan is like a very patient old general, repeatedly telling people about the six spiritual pillars of The Macallan - The Macallan Manor, the ultra-small pot still, the outstanding oak barrel, the sherry barrel process, the natural color of the wine, the exquisite winemaking skills... For nearly two hundred years, he has used unparalleled ingenuity and classic excellence to carve single malt whisky into a work of art that embodies time, nature and humanity.
Since the establishment of The Macallan Estate, Captain John Grant has always had a strong sense of belonging to the land and a deep respect for nature and the spirit of community, which is the foundation of all of McAllen's actions. This sentiment continues to this day through whisky, and one spirit that Macallan likes to emphasize is "home to home".
It is said that the new duty-free boutique still adheres to this core concept, and the Macallan duty-free boutique in Haikou is an extension of The Macallan estate on the River Speyside in Scotland, spanning time and space, allowing new and old friends of Macallan to meet Speyside again.
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Before I stepped into the store, I kept wondering what it would be like to be in the McCarran Distillery in Speyside.
The director has traveled to various whisky regions in Scotland, but he has passed by the Macallan Distillery due to travel problems. But that doesn't mean I don't know anything about it. When the new distillery was completed in 2018, we were curious to get up close and personal with it in a variety of ways, including a visit to The Macallan's duty-free boutique in Haikou.
McAllan Duty Free Boutique (Haikou)
Walking on the first floor of CDF Haikou International Duty Free City, in the world's largest single duty-free shop, the Macallan Duty Free Boutique's independent space is exquisite and magnificent, and every detail in the store has been carefully designed to convey the brand's deep heritage.
The roof of the award-winning McCarran distillery in Speyside, which has long been seen only in pictures and videos, has been reproduced on the wall of the boutique, and the director finally has a concrete look at the former Macallan creative director Ken Grier's self-deprecating comparison of the rolling roof to the lair of the villain in the Bond movie, and the volcano in "Thunder Valley of 007".
The design of the bar under the wall is different from other Macallan duty free boutiques, and the moldings at the bottom of the bar are designed as a capital V that reminds me of the raised element on the Macallan bottle, which is also part of the Macallan Spiritual Home icon in The Macallan official. Invited guests can sit at the bar to appreciate these subtle design echoes, as well as the opportunity to sample and explore the unique flavours of The Macallan's different collections under the guidance of experienced brand professionals.
Next to the bar, the famous artist Dale Chihuly's nature-inspired work "Spring Green Persian" is on display, the one-eyed glass master who is good at breaking the conventional form of glass, allowing it to grow organically and embodying the tension of life, and his innovation and insistence on extraordinary craftsmanship are also the embodiment of the Macallan spirit. It is reported that the artworks here will also be replaced every six months according to the launch of different series of new products of The Macallan, showing the connection with The Macallan DNA.
Since I entered The Macallan's duty-free boutique, I felt like I was visiting a small art gallery. The protagonist in the wooden lattice, with different shapes and shining crystals and the light of time, has not yet appeared, so let me press the watch first.
The oak lattice wall on the right side of the shop also displays some simple and elegant artworks, reflecting the Macallan's spirit of advocating nature and being close to nature, under the soft light, closing my eyes seems to smell the fragrance of logs, which makes me have a strange feeling of being in the green estate of the Scottish Highlands, as if seeing that in the rough and ingenious hands of the coopers, those old Shirley barrels have been given new life, and they inhale the natural aura of the Scottish Highlands. Exhale an intoxicating mellow fragrance.
It is this ingenious design detail that creates a single malt whisky appreciation world in Haikou that is comparable to the Speyside distillery. At this point, I finally understood why The Macallan was opening a duty-free boutique here, instead of a counter like in other airports.
The significance of a duty-free boutique is not only to provide consumers with a convenient channel to buy good wine, but also to serve as a concentrated version of Speyside Distillery, allowing consumers to have the opportunity to deeply understand and experience it no matter where they are, opening up the five senses and five senses, from design to taste, and fully feel the spirit of The Macallan.
Even if the epidemic ends next year, the director is not arrogant enough to fly to Scotland, but I can come to Haikou's duty-free boutiques, so many first-release, limited-edition, rare and high-luxury products only in duty-free boutiques, this is the real arrogance!
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So, now it's a big time to launch the protagonists of the boutiques – rare wines that are hard to find elsewhere.
For example, I saw The Macallan's annual limited edition in the travel retail channel – the second in The Macallan Ultimate Flavours Series: Ultimate Coffee Single Malt Whisky – which I certainly drank first.
The feeling of first entering the mouth is similar to other whiskies, mixed with rich fruity, nutty, sweet oak, and seems to have a hint of cocoa, the brand ambassador mysteriously said, don't rush to drink, don't eat anything else, wait for a while - it is the familiar aroma of coffee roasting that appears, first bitter and then sweet, and the return is long.
The brand ambassador told me that this imaginative and creative "Coffee Extract" was inspired by The Macallan Brewmaster Steven Bremner from Arabica coffee, combining the Macallan classic European Shirley oak barrel with the rich and mellow coffee flavor of the wine, and the sweet and soft vanilla aroma brought by the American Sherry Oak Barrel to create a balanced and rich taste experience The blend of flavours goes hand in hand with The Macallan's curiosity and innovative spirit.
There are also the "Travel Retail Editions" – The Macallan Discovery Collection and the Pure Black Single Malt Whisky. The former four models: blue sky, brilliant green, red wood, and azure blue, each is an adventure of flavor and personality, from vibrant and fresh to full-bodied, although the flavor is different, conveying the Macallan Distillery's "passion and relentless pursuit of oak".
There's also the "boutique only" edition – The Home Series Distillery Limited Edition and The Macallan Collection Files series, which just debuted last month. The former adheres to its "home to home" concept, and the packaging uses the watercolor of the estate painted by Colin Rizza, a Scottish artist and veteran employee of The Macallan Distillery, which condenses the sense of belonging he feels at The Macallan and the hospitality from The Macallan Manor in this limited edition flavor, and also gives every old friend of The Macallan a sense of intimacy back to his spiritual home.
Don't be surprised, in addition to these "limited editions" mentioned above, this store also has - and the Macallan luxury rare products that you rarely have the opportunity to experience on other channels: The Macallan Red Collection, The Macallan Brilliant Series, The Macallan Legend Volume 1 1950...
Anyway, what is in the distillery in Speycer, there is also what is right here!
And the chapter of cadenza is always at the end.
The industry has long admired The Macallan's oldest single malt whisky ever made, the '81 Macallan Light Morning. And then this time, I had the pleasure of seeing it in person.
Three vigorous bronze hands reverently hold a glass wine bottle shaped like the Temple of Heaven, and the deep russet liquor changes infinite color under the soft light. It's not high, but I feel like looking up. That amber shimmering liquid brought me to 1940, the year it was aged in oak barrels. In that turbulent era of war, the sky bombed by bombs was gray, and this transparent and pure liquid was quietly hidden by McAllen, quietly precipitated in the river of time, and after nearly 30,000 morning dawns and twilight, like a firm light, immobile as a mountain, waiting for the moment the barrel was opened, proudly showing the world the aging of the most luxurious time.
This bottle of Macallan Light Morning will be on permanent display here.
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A whisky maker once said, "By the time the whisky I make now is in the world, I may not be alive, but I made it, and it's a wonderful feeling." ”
As a connoisseur, the moment you raise your glass, your thoughts have already crossed the mountains and seas, through time, through the liquor, you can talk to the outstanding winemaker decades ago, taste his story, and tell your own heart.
Whisky has always been a gift of time and art, and these flowing waters of life not only contain time, but also full of memories.
I think that's why I'm deeply fascinated by whisky. The Macallan duty-free boutique that flew to Haikou opened the dusty memories of each bottle of Macallan in the most direct tasting way, and talked with distant distilleries with an immersive experience, which is really evocative and gourmeting.
——Waiting for the idealistic hedonist——
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