The Macallan is back with another new whisky release, which should come as no surprise to fans of this prolific Speyside scotch distillery that always seems to have another expression waiting in the wings. The latest is the fourth expression in the Distil Your World series, and this time the flavor journey is supposed to transport you to the city of Hong Kong.
Each whisky in the Distil Your World series focuses on a different location, with past releases highlighting New York, London, and Mexico (a single cask edition of Distil Your World Mexico, one of two bottles, recently sold for more than $80,000 at auction recently to raise money for charity). The series is a collaboration between three people whose livelihoods are literally based on their palates–Macallan lead whisky maker Euan Kennedy and the Roca brothers, owners of the Michelin three-starred El Celler de Can Roca in Spain. For this new release, the trio traveled to Hong Kong to eat, drink, and soak up the essence of the city, and then try to somehow capture that in the form of a single malt scotch whisky.
Of course, there will be some stretch of the imagination involved when tasting this expression, but the resulting single malt is a marriage of whisky aged in sherry-seasoned European oak and American oak casks, bottled at 46.8 percent ABV with no age statement. “I wanted to develop the idea of structure in this whisky, reflective of the building environment rising from the sea to the green peaks behind,” said Kennedy in a statement. “To create contrast within this whisky, in the same way Hong Kong is a city of contrast. A whisky with many layers, to be returned to again and again to find more stories to tell, its incredible complexity transporting you on a journey of flavor and memory.” Official tasting notes describe notes of tropical sweetness, ginger, spices, aged oak, grapefruit, and a bit of umami on the palate.
According to Joan Roca, the creative process of creating the whisky was the best part about this collaboration. “That’s where the chaos is, where we are open to anything, where anything is possible and, no matter how crazy it may seem, it may be useful,” he said. “Our culinary proposal is inspired by the deep-rooted traditions and different cultures of Hong Kong, while at the same time representing the modernity of the city.” To that end, the Rocas created a special menu at their restaurant to pair with the whisky and bring some the flavors of Hong Kong to Spain. Dishes include scallop and sea urchin cheung fun, truffle cha siu bao, steamed abalone, and duck and milk tea mooncake. A short film called “Reimagining Spaces” also accompanies the whisky release, documenting the Roca brothers trip to Hong Kong.
The Macallan Distil Your World Hong Kong is available now in limited numbers starting this month, with just 500 bottles coming to the U.S. for pre-sale to private clients (SRP $4,750), and it will become more widely available around the country next September. You can find the rest of the Macallan lineup, including Distil Your World New York, available to purchase from ReserveBar now.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker