The Macallan Appreciation Tour presents a feast of whisky colours
Recently, The Macallen, the world-renowned Scottish single malt whisky brand, kicked off the "Exquisite Art World" appreciation tour in Zhangyuan, Shanghai, bringing consumers the global travel retail limited series of wines - The Macallan Ultimate Collection through immersive art exhibitions, interpreting The Macallan's pursuit of the natural color of the liquor with a pleasing color feast, and the unique charm of the whisky given to the whisky by the sherry barrel wetting process. The collection includes five exceptional vintage whiskies, marking the return of vintage whiskies to Macallan's global travel retail channel.
Join forces with David Carson to demonstrate the obsessive pursuit of the natural color of wine
In the world of whisky, every drop is a gift of time and nature, the color of the wine becomes stronger with aging, and the flavor is also enriched in the process of continuous interweaving of the liquor and oak barrels, bringing whisky lovers a multi-sensory experience of sight, taste and smell. For The Macallan, each bottle of whisky is a prism that reflects the compelling story behind the brand's six spiritual pillars, and the appearance of The Macallan Perfection collection further interprets two of the brand's six spiritual pillars: "the sherry barrel process" and "the natural color of the liquor".
The Macallan Perfection collection vividly illustrates the brand's quest for the natural colour of its wines
"The liquor of The Macallan Single Malt Whisky has always maintained its natural color, whether it is a brilliant golden yellow or a naturally deep chestnut color, it is a natural gift from oak barrels to give liquor," said Jeremy Speirs, Regional Managing Director of Global Travel Retail at Eddington Group, in an interview. It will also be highlighted in this process. Jeremy Speirs' "sherry cask process" refers to the Macallen's tradition of aging whisky in oak barrels from sherry in the Herez region of Spain, which is not only one of the main sources of The Macallan's unique flavor, but also one of the sources of inspiration for this Perfection collection.
Jeremy Speirs, Regional Managing Director, Global Travel Retail, Eddington Group
In the beautiful Jerez region of Spain, where sherry is produced, the forces of nature interact to create sherry of exceptional quality, and the sherry barreling process here is the key to producing high-quality single malt whisky. The Macallan carefully selects the finest sherry barrels from the Herez region of Spain and imparts the Brilliant range of wines with a crystal-sheench, natural colour and flavour during the ageing process, from 12 years and 15 years to 18, 21 and 30 years, each Scottish single malt whisky has its own unique charm.
The Macallan Global Travel Retail Limited Series – The Ultimate Single Malt Whisky
In order to better present the visual feast created by the Ultimate Collection, The Macallan once again collaborated with renowned American graphic designer David Carson to create a refreshing visual identity that interprets the flavor story behind The Macallan Ultimate Collection through clever and colorful visual art.
As a forward-thinking artist, David Carson draws inspiration from the unique terroir and cultural customs of the Herez region of Spain, where McAllan shirley oak barrels are produced, and uses a unique personal perspective to skillfully interpret the Ultimate Collection to show the beauty of natural colors that transcend time. It is worth mentioning that in this creative process, he also designed a set of outer packaging for different wines, and used his signature collage style art to show consumers more vividly the natural color of whisky and the charm of sherry barrel craft. "We hope to bring more consumers a satisfying and interesting experience in such an attractive and modern way." Jeremy Speirs said.
Renowned American artist David Carson collaborated with The Macallan to create themed visuals and product packaging
To commemorate The Macallan's exclusive collaboration with David Carson, and to bring consumers closer to the new collection, The Macallan hosted a series of immersive art exhibitions in London, Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore and Los Angeles that brought the creativity of the designer and the inspiration for The Macallan Colors in an immersive experience. At the Macallan "Fine Arts" appreciation tour held in Zhangyuan, Shanghai, consumers wandered through the gallery-like exhibition space to learn about the whisky brewing process, admire the style of the Spanish region of Herez, and the interactive experience through the recognition of QR codes allowed people to feel David Carson's wonderful artistic design inspiration, while the Exquisite Collection tasting experience under the guidance of Macallan brand ambassadors can truly appreciate The Macallen's exquisite winemaking skills for nearly 200 years.
Increase the size of China's tourism market and be optimistic about the development opportunities of Chinese whisky
In late 2022, McCarran opened its first duty-free boutique in Haikou, Hainan, Chinese mainland, the largest travel retail store in the global travel retail channel to date. In this duty-free boutique, consumers can meet Macallan brand ambassadors, listen to the Macallan brand's 100-year legend, and explore the Macallan brand's whisky range, which according to Jeremy Speirs gives consumers an insight into the core of the brand's ethos, giving the Macallan the opportunity to deeply connect with them and bring the brand's products into their daily lives.
Macallan Haikou duty-free boutique
In fact, as a representative of the rapid growth of China's imported liquor market, whisky has grown in recent years. Statistics from Zhiyan Consulting show that in 2022, the apparent consumption of domestic whisky liquor will be about 44.48 million liters, an increase of 2.22 million liters over 2021; The import volume of whisky industry was about 32.81 million liters, an increase of 2.555 million liters over 2021, while the market size reached 4.833 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.22%. "Chinese consumers are very enthusiastic about whisky, and the demand for high-end whisky products represented by single malt whisky will continue to increase," Jeremy Speirs analyzed, "In the past three or four years, although there are various external factors, Macallan's sales in the travel retail channel and the Chinese market have maintained phenomenal growth, so we are confident about the future trend of whisky consumption in the Chinese market." "What needs to be seen is that with the gradual recovery of China's consumer market and the gradual opening of the tourism market, consumers' enthusiasm for buying is also slowly increasing.
As one of the main source destinations for the global travel market, Chinese consumers play a pivotal role in the travel retail channel, "The increase in disposable income of Chinese consumers, the dynamism of China's travel market and the growing demand for spirits from the middle class present broader opportunities for the industry." "The appearance of The Macallan Haikou Duty Free Boutique can be said to be an important step for the brand to test the waters of direct communication with Chinese consumers in local travel retail channels, "We hope to deepen our connection and interaction with Chinese consumers by better deploying travel retail channels," said Jeremy Speirs, "coupled with the unique location advantages of Hainan Free Trade Port and the construction and development of Hainan Free Trade Port, this is a good development and growth opportunity for McAllen." It is also a new gateway to embrace the Chinese market. It is worth mentioning that Jeremy Speirs revealed in an interview that in the future, McCarran will continue to invest in Hainan and continue to cultivate the Chinese market, "In the future, we will create more international airport duty-free shops, high-end shopping malls and other channels similar to Haikou duty-free boutiques to create experience spaces like Haikou duty-free boutiques to interact with consumers." At the same time, we will also combine various forms of consumer interaction, such as educational activities, art exhibitions, pop-up spaces, etc. to enrich the consumer experience, so that consumers have a more comprehensive brand culture and product experience, so as to enhance the emotional connection between them and The Macallan. ”
As more and more consumers begin to introduce whisky as part of their lifestyle, especially the rise of the younger generation of consumers, the whisky consumption scene has become more and more diversified - in addition to food and wine pairing, it has gradually become a popular choice for consumers in global travel gifts and holiday parties, "The Macallan Perfection Collection is a good example, which largely reflects the Chinese consumers' desire to try new products and more high-end whisky." Jeremy Speirs also said that based on Chinese consumers' pursuit of high-quality and exquisite lifestyle, he will also cooperate with artists in more fields in the future to meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of consumers.