Our Curiously Small Stills are one of the defining features of our distillation process. The curiously small stills gives the spirit perfect contact with the copper, which helps to concentrate our ‘new make’ spirit and create the rich and robust character that The Macallan single malts are renowned for.

As the liquid is heated in the stills, the alcohol within boils and turns to vapour, travelling over the neck of the still, where it cools and is condensed back into liquid. In larger and taller stills the alcohol vapour has a long way to travel, resulting in heavier vapours falling back into the boil and only the lighter vapours finding their way into the condenser. With small stills we can collect a dense and rich style of spirit, as the alcohol vapour doesn’t travel as far.

Distilling our full-bodied spirit ensures that we can mature our whiskies for a long time, allowing the spirit to soak up all the intricate flavours of our oak wood casks. 

• COLOUR

  Spun gold

• NOSE

  Sweet banana, pear and white peach combined with malty biscuit, marshmallow and vanilla with a hint of citrus lemon

• PALATE

  Pear drops, caramelised banana and sherbet, developing into malt and spiced oak

• FINISH

  Long, smooth toasted oak