The original Macallan ‘As We Get It’ bottle is a non-age statement cask strength bottling released in the 1980’s by independent bottler J.G Thompson & Co. The licence for the ‘As We Get It’ brand has been held by a number of bottlers over the years with the most recent expressions released as mystery malts, although vintage bottlings such as this Macallan stated the distillery of origin.

As the name suggests, ‘As We Get It’ is bottled straight from the cask in small quantities when available, which ensures each bottling is unique in flavour, colour and strength. As Macallan was long renowned for exclusively using ex-sherry casks for maturation before the introduction of the ‘Fine Oak’ range in 2004, this vintage dram should give the drinker a taste of the distillery’s traditional sherry dominant malt expression and maturation style.

ABOUT THE MACALLAN DISTILLERY

Located in the Speyside region the Macallan distillery was first legally licenced to Alexander Reid in 1824. Originally one of Speyside’s farm distilleries, previously unlicensed whisky stills had operated at the Macallan distillery site. In 1868 the Macallan distillery was taken over by James Stuart who rebuilt the distillery plant, although in 1892 his ownership ended when the distillery was sold to Roderick Kemp who had formerly owned the Talisker distillery. Kemp’s successors retained ownership until 1996 when the Macallan distillery was taken over by the Edrington Group.

These changes in ownership have ensured the Macallan distillery's continued expansion, from the original plant housing two stills in a wooden shed to a total of twenty-one stills by 1975. As with virtually every Scottish distillery, the Macallan distillery was traditionally used as a malt for blending. A downturn in the blended whisky market in the 1980’s caused the Macallan distillery's to shift their focus to the emerging demand for single malts. A decision to mature the distillery’s maltings exclusively in ex-sherry casks saw Macallan become the first distillery to create ‘bespoke casks’, selecting the trees to provide barrel timber and specifying the coopering process and oloroso sherry used for seasoning.