Private Eye Magazine

Founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid, the Elchies Distillery as it was known initially, did not become the Macallan-Glenlivet in name until 1892. Since then, it has undergone massive expansion with Edrington and William Grant & Sons combining forces in 1999 to purchase Highland Distillers for £601 million. By then, the reputation of the distillery for its sherry-led style of whisky was already firmly in place. The new ownership model has enabled the distillery to produce new ranges, reach out to new demographics and establish itself as an international brand of quality. Bottles are Macallan are increasingly sought after for their commodity value and not the contents, which often are of high quality. Moving to a new distillery site in recent years, will in the long-term, allow Macallan to produce more and if needed, the old distillery sits idle despite being capable of producing 11 million litres before it closed in 2018.