What does James Bond and The Macallan share in common? Both are Scottish, obviously. The other similarity is, of course, the consistency of their characters. Despite six lead actors assuming Bond’s mantle, the spy did not lose his suave. Likewise, The Macallan’s expressions have maintained their rich, fruity and full-bodied flavour over the years.
To commemorate their partnership, the Macallan collaborated with EON Productions to launch six limited-edition bottles of a single malt for The Macallan James Bond 60th anniversary. Each bottle marks every successful decade that the Bond franchise, which turned 60 last October, has had. The Macallan James Bond 60th anniversary’s exclusive release has an enticing Swiss gold colour with an ABV of 43.7 per cent—a homage to Bond’s agent number, 007.
The whisky’s aroma immediately unleashes its soothing nature with the fresh and vibrant notes of lemon and lime, as well as a sprinkle of sherbet, leading into a sweet vanilla and coconut fragrance, with a hint of dried fig and raisin. The spirit has a sweet and tangy sensation, thanks to the orange zest and fizzy sherbet, combined with gentle oak and subtle ginger spice notes. This eventually evolves into the sweetness of deep dark chocolate, figs and baked apple tart with a honey drizzle.
Although all six bottles contain the same whisky, each of them come with exclusive original illustrations and colours to denote the decade it represents. Decade I, the era Bond debuted, celebrates the inimitable Sean Connery with sketches from Goldfinger (1964), a combat sequence from You Only Live Twice (1967) and Bond’s dummy jet pack in Thunderball (1965). The Decade II bottle explores the Bond innovations and archives of the 1970s with sketches of Stromborg’s Atlantis research lab from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and the space station from Moonraker (1979).
For Decade III, The Macallan features a logo art from Octopussy (1983) and the sketch of an A.T.A.C Operations area from For Your Eyes Only (1981) on the bottle. For Decade IV, which marked Pierce Brosnan’s entry as the new Bond, the bottle presents an action sequence storyboard from GoldenEye (1995) and the stealth ship concept from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
The Decade V and VI bottles highlights the two different persona of Bond, played by Daniel Craig, who has been increasingly ditching his martinis for The Macallan. The Decade V bottle has an action-packed outfit with a dramatic car sequence sketch from Casino Royale (2006), as well as a digitally sketched rooftop chase in Quantum of Solace (2008). By contrast, the Decade VI bottle has a more melancholic tone with a sketch of James Bond’s childhood home in Skyfall (2012) and a ‘Day of the Dead’ poster from Spectre (2015).
Starting 24 August, The Macallan James Bond 60th anniversary limited-edition whisky will be up for tasting through exclusive experiential sessions at selected establishments. These include The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur (@stregiskl), The Chamber at Pavilion Bukit Jalil and The Starhill (@thechambermy), Shin’Labo by James Won (@shinlabobyjameswon), Nadodi KL (@nadodikl) & Vér Bar, and at the DC Restaurant (@dc_restaurant).
