The whisky bottled for Cheaper By The Dram REF NO.16 was distilled in 1989 at the Macallan Distillery. It was bottled by Duncan Taylor as part of their Whisky Galore series, which was created in celebration of the escape and demise of the SS Pollitician in 1941.

This bottle sells at auction for around £150 and retails at around £375. By comparison official Macallan distillery bottles of 10-year-old bottled in the 1990s sell at auction for £250-£350.

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 site. In 1868 Macallan was taken over by James Stuart who rebuilt the distillery plant, although in 1892 his ownership ended when Macallan was sold to Roderick Kemp who had formerly owned the Talisker distillery. Kemp’s successors retained ownership until 1996 when Macallan was taken over by the Edrington Group. These changes in ownership have ensured Macallan’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, Macallan was traditionally used as a malt for blending although as result of a downturn in the blended whisky market in the 1980’s Macallan’s focus shifted 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. Macallan’s efforts to produce bespoke expressions has more recently led to a greater emphasis on bottles for the luxury whisky market, including 50- and 60-year aged Macallan decanters and the Fine & Rare vintage range with expressions which date back to 1926.

About Duncan Taylor

This 1989 distilled Macallan non-age statement single malt was released by independent bottler Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited as part of their Whisky Galore range. Established in 1938, Duncan Taylor initially specialised in cask trading and brokering through which the company amassed a vast collection of aged and rare single malt and single grain Scotch whisky casks.

In the 1960’s, Duncan Taylor was bought by Abe Rosenberg a native New Yorker who began to store casks purchased from premium distilleries. Although blends were traditionally Rosenberg’s business, he was passionate about collecting the premium single malt and grain whiskies used to create these blends. He amassed more than 4,500 casks into the Duncan Taylor portfolio, many of which remain in the company’s collection today. In 1994, Euan Shand acquired Duncan Taylor along with its collection of casks repositioning the company to focus on single malts, ensuring that when Duncan Taylor celebrated its 80^th anniversary in 2018 the company had gained a global reputation for its commitment to producing and bottling quality whisky.

The Whisky Galore range celebrates the story of the SS Politician, a cargo ship that slipped its moorings and eventually ran aground and sank off the coast of the Scottish Island of Eriskay in 1941. Amongst the cargo were 24,000 cases of premium blended Scotch whisky which the local islanders quickly attempted to salvage, hiding the whisky recovered from the police and customs officers. The Whisky Galore brand is now released as a specially selected single malt, although past expressions such as this 1989 Macallan have been bottled from Duncan Taylor’s single cask collection.