The Macallan Captures Spirit Of NYC With Limited Edition Luxury Scotch

This elite scotch whisky inspired by the Big Apple starts at a stiff $4,200 per bottle.

What makes a city a global icon, and transforms a whisky from an ordinary liquid into one iconic in its own right? Legendary distiller The Macallan has embarked on a journey to answer both those questions with the release last week of the new Distil Your World New York, the latest in a line of releases that explore the worlds of both fine Scotch whisky and culinary delights.

Never one to stop striving and searching, the release was created in close partnership with the Roca brothers, owners of the El Celler de Can Roca — twice named the best restaurant in the world. That’s a lofty vision towards which to aim, but Polly and Juan Roca uncovered the thriving energy beneath New York through artistic pursuits around the city.

The end result of spending time with figures like jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and Guggenheim Museum Art Curator Megan Fontanella? Both a 30-minute documentary (the fourth in the Distil Your World series), and even more crucially, a distinctive whisky derived from six European and American Oak casks.

The whisky and the documentary were unveiled at a private event at the stunning Rainbow Room last week, at which attendees could both sip on the masterful whisky and enjoy extraordinary views of the city that inspired the soon-to-be-iconic liquid.

“This project is a homage to the people of New York. The daring, creative and diverse characters we’ve met along the way,” said The Macallan Whisky Maker Polly Logan. “This whisky is bold, flavor vibrant and uplifting – just like each of them.”

The whisky itself is as varied and masterful at times as the city from which The Macallan drew inspiration: Subtle apple notes lead the way, along with peanut and chocolate, while the distillery noted that “uplifting citrus  represents the skyscrapers that dominate New York’s skyline.”

In a fitting nod to the diversity of the city itself, diners at the Rainbow Room reveal event had the chance to take a culinary journey alongside the whisky, enjoying dishes developed by the Roca brothers (like cured and smoked strip steak and a potato cronut with salsa brava).

Taken altogether, it’s a remarkable approach to fuse the energy and inspiration of a city and its artistic and gourmet culinary scenes, all the while ending up with a final product that’s still distinctly in line with The Macallan’s values.

The Distil Your World New York edition is meant to be treasured with each sip, and it’s presented accordingly in a stunning display box that includes an engraved aerial map of New York. An accompanying book takes readers and whisky enthusiasts through the journey behind the latest Macallan edition.

If you wish to set off on your own quintessentially New York journey, you’re making a decisive investment: Distil Your World New York retails for $4,200 (for the 70cl bottle) and $4,500 (for the 75cl version) at The Macallan Boutiques and a mix of specialist and non-specialist retailers.

Much like embracing the one-of-a-kind appeal of New York City, it’s an adventure very much worth your time, and a whisky very much worth adding to your collection while the limited run of 1,000 bottles is still available. Chart your course wisely.