Replica

Jeg har forspurgt Macallan om ægtheden af deres flasker, nu da jeg er indehaver af disse, og her er hvad de skrev til mine spørgsmål om de flasker....

Jason R. Craig
Brand Innovation Development Manager
The Macallan

Dear Mr Petersen


Over the last 7 years we have produced a replica range based on 4 19th
Century bottles, replicating their label, glass and liquid and releasing
them as c. £100 bottles onto the open market. These bottles were chosen from
our archive stocks and had had their label and glass tested for
authenticity, each bottle was found to be authentic. Roughly 20,000 bottles
of each 19th Century bottle were released.

These Replica bottle releases were always intended to be close copies of the
original bottles that we held. The production of the glass and the labels
are designed to be extremely close copies of the original bottle. The
Replica whisky is a copy of the Macallan whisky as it was thought to be made
at that time, carefully put together by our Whisky Maker, bearing in mind
what was discovered when the original bottle was opened. This Replica whisky
was produced using casks that were originally distilled at The Macallan, the
oldest of which dated back to 1967.

Over the last 9-12 months there have been a few articles questioning the
validity of our original archive bottles. This prompted us to have a variety
of our archive whiskies carbon dated and we found that some of the whisky in
our archive was not 19th Century but was more modern whisky in old bottles.
This meant that we at the Macallan have been victims of a fraudulent
purchase at auction and from certain individuals and we are looking into
this currently along with the rest of the whisky industry.

With regard to the original bottles which we replicated, we have no liquid
left after the replication process and launch activity. We do know that the
labels and glass have been tested and they are authentic. The experts nosed
and tasted the original liquid at the PR launch events. Based on their
individual experience and extensive expertise they were convinced then, and
remain convinced, that the liquid was genuine and came from The Macallan
distillery. Aside from The Macallan's Whisky Makers, there were panels of
experts at the launch events, none of whom suggested for a moment that the
whiskies might not be Macallan; subsequent scores / ratings of the Replicas
of these whiskies by some of these experts (e.g. Michael Jackson's Malt
Whisky Companion, 5th Edition) have been consistent with The Macallan's very
high standards. Also, where there was a pronounced "lightness" (e.g. the
1841) to some of the whiskies drawn, this again would have been consistent
with whiskies of the period which were not matured for long in the wood. The
Immature Spirits Act, which initially stipulated a minimum of 2 years in the
cask only came into force in 1915, extended to a minimum of three years in
1916.

It is also worth noting that the 1841 cork, when withdrawn for the antique
bottle, disintegrated, suggesting at the least a very old cork ! The 1861
cork tapered markedly towards to end nearest the whisky, again suggesting
gradual decay over many years. Finally, the whiskies were relatively pale in
colour, indicative of refill casks (very likely at that time due to the high
cost of casks, and the relative difficulty of procuring them), rather than
deeper coloured whisky, more typical of modern day Macallan matured in
European oak, first fill casks.

Rest assured this only relates to our specific archive and has nothing to do
with the age ranges of Macallan currently available through specialist
outlets globally.

I hope that this puts your mind at rest.

Mvh

Carsten

Tjah,

At flaskerne og etiketterne er ægte har været kendt længe. Det var INDHOLDET som der var tvivl om.

Det er lidt glat at han medgiver at noget af det som de har i arkiverne alligevel ikke er fra det 19. århundrede. Sagen er at ALLE de testede flasker er nutidige falsknerier!

Jeg købte alle Replicas ( undtagen den seneste 1864 som jeg fandt dybt uinteressant smagsmæssigt). Jeg og alle andre har så ikke fået helt den vare vi blev lovet.

Men Replica 1874, 1861 og 1841 er fremragende whisky og absolut omkring en tusse værd og så får man nogle flotte flasker med i købet.

Og så er den vist ikke længere.

Al Jones

Hvis det nu er en nutids whisky som er i inholdet burde det være muligt at finde frem til den "originale" inhold, eftersom nu at indholdet påvises at det er Macallan.. som de selv skriver.. :

The experts nosed
and tasted the original liquid at the PR launch events. Based on their
individual experience and extensive expertise they were convinced then, and
remain convinced, that the liquid was genuine and came from The Macallan
distillery. Aside from The Macallan's Whisky Makers, there were panels of
experts at the launch events, none of whom suggested for a moment that the
whiskies might not be Macallan

Dit argument forudsætter at der skulle være en vis lighed mellem en whisky produceret på Macallan i feks. 1841 og det som laves på stedet mere end 160 år senere.

Den Macallan som vi køber nu kendetegnes ved Golden Promise byg, 4 slags gær og næsten udelukkende sherryfade. Ingen af delene var tilfældet dengang, ligesom det der kom på flaske var meget yngre end idag.

Intet af udstyret eller bygningerne stammer fra dengang og personalet er selvfølgelig udskiftet adskillige gange.

Hvis nogen synes at indholdet af de gamle flasker ligner moderne Macallan, så er det vel nærmest endnu en grund til at være mistænksom.

Al Jones

Jeg kan godt se dit point, med det hele.. men jeg kan dog bare kun citere hvad der blev skrevet til mig via denne mail jeg fik fra dem..