The Macallan has launched the fourth iteration in its celebrated Harmony Collection, with two new Scotch whiskies launched in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil.
Continuing The Macallan’s 200th anniversary celebrations, this latest release champions the brand’s longstanding relationship with wood – in particular, oak. Used to age every single Macallan whisky, oak cakes impart up to 80% of the spirit’s flavor and 100% of its color. The wood’s role in whisky-making cannot be understated.
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Diving headfirst into this symbiotic relationship, the new Harmony Collection showcases the impact that different variations of oak can have on a whisky. The first, Vibrant Oak, has been aged in a combination of first fill sherry seasoned American oak casks and refill sherry oak casks, creating a vanilla-heavy palette with notes of apple and toasted almond.
Guardian Oak, on the other hand, is matured in first fill sherry seasoned European oak casks and refill sherry oak casks, creating a spicier whisky, with notes of dates, oranges and raisins at the forefront.
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“Oak plays such an important role in the color and flavor of The Macallan and bringing it to life through our packaging is incredibly inspirational,” says The Macallan’s whisky maker, Diane Stuart.
“Vibrant Oak and Guardian Oak provided an opportunity to select the casks that deliver the classic characteristics of our two key wood types, sherry seasoned American oak and sherry seasoned European oak casks, showcasing the differences these wood types deliver.”
Initially launched with an immersive performance at the whisky brand’s Speyside distillery earlier this year, the collaboration between the whisky brand and Cirque du Soleil is now being brought to life via Vibrant Oak and Guardian Oak’s special packaging, which both seek to ‘capture the importance of the connection between the natural world and human experience.’
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Vibrant Oak is decked in warm golden hues and features a character from Cirque du Soleil’s The Macallan performance carefully intertwined with an American oak tree, while Guardian Oak features a second character in the branches of a European oak, this time in shades of purple.
The complete Harmony Collection gift set – including the first which brought together whisky and chocolate in collaboration with the Roca brothers; the second which examined the relationship between coffee and whisky; and the third, created by Stella and Mary McCartney – will be available to shop exclusively at Reserve Bar for a limited time only. Vibrant Oak and Guardian Oak will be shoppable individually at The Macallan’s online boutique.
