Celebrating the World of Coffee with The Macallan Inspired by Arabica
"There are many parallels between the approach to creating incomparable whisky and coffee” Steven Bremner
Located in the Highlands of Scotland, The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 and was one of the first Scottish distilleries to be legally licensed. After building its enviable reputation by focusing on quality, The Macallan is today one of the most sought-after Scotch whisky for collectors.
On top of using pure water from springs beneath the distillery, their Whisky Maker, Steven Bremner, keeps in average less than 20% of the spirit collected after distillation for maturation into casks. Considered as one of the smallest cuts of spirit in the industry, this cut is responsible for the full-bodied richness of their Single Malt whiskies. The Macallan also invests a lot of time and effort into sourcing and making quality casks with their dedicated Master of Wood: Stuart MacPherson. To this day, the greatest influence on The Macallan’s single malts is its standard sherry seasoned oak cask from which it brings its distinctive flavours, aromas and natural colour.
Every year, The Macallan releases a limited series called "The Harmony Collection" to celebrate their connection to nature. Each release unveils distinctive and innovative packaging that seeks to bring new life to organic by-products which have ended their usual course. After releasing "Harmony 1" last year as an ode to the world of chocolate with Rich Cacao and Fine Cacao, The Macallan is now celebrating the world of coffee with Intense Arabica and Smooth Arabica.
Inspired by the Arabica coffee bean from Ethiopia, renowned as the birthplace of coffee, Steven Bremner has created these intense and flavoureful whiskies to pair perfectly with coffee. After immersing himself in the art of coffee and exploring the journey from field to cup with world renowned coffee experts, he uncovered the unique arabica coffee process and its distinct sensory expressions at each stage.
For these two new expressions, Steven selected a harmonious combination of American and European oak casks to achieve the distinctive notes offered by the single malts. Intense Arabica is reminiscent of a sweet yet strong espresso coffee and has a higher ABV of 44%, while Smooth Arabica conveys the flavours of a gently spiced and soft americano which come through at an ABV of 40%, and both can be paired with coffee to provide a new way to savour The Macallan.
"There are many parallels between the approach to creating incomparable whisky and coffee. Each requires unique skills and craftsmanship to achieve depth and complexity of taste and both worlds aim to deliver an extraordinary consumption experience" Steven Bremner states. “To create the coffee-inspired second edition of The Harmony Collection, I sought out intense notes in The Macallan’s traditional sherry seasoned European oak casks that would offer the rich and satisfying elements of coffee, with the influence of sherry seasoned American oak casks adding sweeter and softer vanilla notes for a balanced and rounded experience.
Hans Eckstein (on the left) and Gio Visitacion (on the right)
Each release is meant to be paired with coffee and we experienced this new way of enjoying The Macallan last March 11 at the Grand Hyatt. For a memorable plant to cup session hosted by Gio Visitacion, founder of The Good Cup Coffee Company, we also learned about the arabica coffee-making process and made a unique blend of Guji and Harrar coffee beans from Ethiopia. As we were appreciating our cup of coffee, The Macallan brand advocate Hans Eckstein invited us to indulge in the tiramisu, cappuccino and gingerbread aromas of Intense Arabica. With its rich and complex palate composed of dark chocolate, mocha and forest fruits, we also enjoyed a long balanced and sweet finish to pair well with our coffee.
In homage to their coffee inspiration, the new expressions are presented in a beautifully crafted presentation box, which incorporates repurposed coffee bean husks, a by-product in the coffee-making process. To create this innovative packaging, The Macallan collaborated with Paper expert Michele Posocco and used rich red pantone colour on the Intense Arabica pack to reflect the coffee fruit. You can now purchase this limited edition priced at Php 30,820 by emailing us at hello@thetastingclubmanila.com.
