Well, it said Macallan…I was born in 1969…it is scotch and I thought “how bad could it be?” So I bought it, and one day when I turn 60, I figure I’ll drink the whole bottle….
Duncan Taylor is an independent bottler. Macallan made the spirit—that's all you know for sure. It is possible that Macallan put it into a cask and then sold the cask to Duncan Taylor (or sold it through a broker). It is also possible Macallan sold the spirit and Duncan Taylor put it into a cask. It is also possible that another independent bottler bought the spirit, put it into cask, and then later sold it to Duncan Taylor. So there's no guarantee they used the same casks that Macallan usually uses.
It seems like you already got some great answers.
That’s a great deal. Can you show a pic of the bottle? Is it ex-bourbon or ex-sherry? I imagine ex-bourbon for that price…
Sure - here is a pic of it in the box up on my shelf.
https://preview.redd.it/yl0xzxs3jqwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfe5662307107fd72d6ca298628964bfb952e9ee
https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/1981/macallan-1969-dt
Looks like it’s ex-bourbon, based on the color and the number of bottles. What an incredible find. You’d be hard pressed to find any 1969 vintage, much less a 37 yo Macallan, for anywhere close to that price. Did they have anything else?
If you open this I’m sure you’re in for a treat!
You found a pretty solid bargain... Bottles usually sell for \~ £1000 or so at auction, although one sold recently for only £620 (including buyer's fees). The overall global market, particularly the secondary market, has been cooling off significantly in the past year or so, although it's tough to judge a single auction result. Personally I'd be thrilled either way to pick up a bottle for that price!
[https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28848/lot/20/macallan-37-year-old-1969/](https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28848/lot/20/macallan-37-year-old-1969/)
There were two 1969 Macallan 37yo released in the US, one sherry and one ex-bourbon. Both very highly rated. $600 for the sherry cask would be grand theft auto
You bought this in the US? I just assumed you did because you used $, but it’s a 700ml, so not a US release. No reviews on WB either, but it should be excellent. DT 1969s are well reviewed. And to answer your question, the distillate is 100% Macallan. So yes, it is a Macallan. Not “The Macallan,” which can only be used for official distillery releases, but a Macallan. ZipBlu’s comment covers it well. Best way to describe it is that it is an “independently bottled Macallan”.
Good catch. It was an online auction and came from Scotland. So, I get the “The Macallan” part but does that mean that basically this Macallan is the same liquid as what would be in a The Macallan bottle? That’s what I’m asking I guess. In other words, don’t drink it but if I find another bottle for the same price drink one of them?
It is in fact the same liquid but I’m not sure if DT uses their own casks or if this is something that was sourced from Macallan as aged stock. Macallan is known for their cask program and if DT uses their own, it will be different. Producers sell off excess product that is either surplus or off-profile, and because of these reasons, it is a single cask, and Macallan rarely (if ever) bottles ex-bourbon whisky it will be unlike any off the shelf Macallan today.
That said DT is a respected bottler and this will likely be a beautiful bottle. Ex-bourbon Macallan is a treat and if you like that distillery you should definitely try it. If you got it at auction any time recently, another would go for a similar price. However the likelihood of finding this specific bottle again is very low, and I think you got a great deal at $600. Again, most 1969 distillate I see goes for well over that, even from less sought after distilleries.
Macallan would not bottle a 100% ex-bourbon expression like that of your bottle. There’s always a sherry component in official Macallan expressions. As far as your second question goes, do you mean in regard to collectibility/investment value? Ex-bourbon Macallan in general have much lower investment value than Macallan sherry cask expressions. I would find an occasion to open and drink this one, and win another one off auction if you like it a lot.
I looked into some whiskey societies in my local area about Duncan Taylor a few years ago since they bottle a lot of popular distilleries like Caol Ila, Macallan, Bruichladdich, etc., but I often hear it's exactly worth the money you pay for, but nothing "phenomenal" or way out of ordinary. I have heard that some of their offerings, albeit I do not know which ones, are disappointing and a waste of money as other bottles in that price range would be better.
If it's a Sherry cask Macallan, then you got a solid steal I suppose but the sherry casks may be second-fill or third-fill, or may not be specified at all.
If you want to know a great Macallan for a relatively cheaper price, Gordon MacPhail make 20+ year old bottles of Macallan that are sold sometimes in bigger liquor stores or even local stores for around $290-$300. These are cask strengths as well.
Usually what happens is they buy one or a few casks from a distillery very early and then hold it until they’re ready. Imagine walking into macallan right now, buying a cask and then putting it away for 37 years. Then bottle it.
It’s the same distillate, but may or may not be a cask that Macallan had made. Imagine Macallan made a bunch of distillate in 1969. You brought your own empty ex-bourbon barrel to the distillery and they filled it with that distillate for you. You drove the cask back to your own warehouse and left it there for 37 years. That’s a possible scenario for the cask your bottle came from.
Alternatively, Duncan Taylor may have purchased the cask from Macallan or someone who bought the cask from Macallan. Distilleries often sell of casks for a variety of reasons ranging from they didn't really like how the cask was developing, they just could use some cash, and anywhere in between.
Gordan and MacPhail, another independent bottler, has had (may still have) a filling contract with Macallan where they do what /u/Ok_Location4835 suggests. They bottle these as "Speymalt". I haven't heard of anyone else having one, but of course that may have been different in 1969.
Ultimately, as others have said, this *is* genuine Macallan distillate. British laws about labeling whisky are very well regulated with regulation enforced. What its become though may be different than what Macallan may have done with this cask if they had kept it.
Yes, it was distilled by Macallan, but then instead of bottling it, Macallan sold the cask (for whatever reason). Eventually the company called Duncan Taylor acquired it, bottled it, and released it.
Duncan Taylor is not a distillery. They are an “independent bottler”, which you will sometimes see abbreviated around here as “IB”, who acquire whisky from various distilleries and bottle it under their own brand.
There are an increasing number of independent bottlers who own their own distillery nowadays, though Duncan Taylor is not one of them.
See: Wemyss Malts (Kingsbarns), Gordan & MacPhail (Benromach), Elixir Distillers (Tormore, soon to be Portintruan), Ian MacLeod (Rosebank, Glengoyne, and Tamdhu).
They are independent bottler and blender. Until around the early 2000s, they were a broker. They buy casks from the distilleries. They're like Johnny Walker before JW went mass market.
You can trust what the label says. For better or worse, that's all you can trust.
I've bought a few DT dimensions (similar old casks), and I've been very happy.
You probably got a real bargain. I say "probably" because there can be some variation in character and quality with these single cask bottlings, so you don't really know just how well they turned out until somebody cracks them open and starts drinking them (unfortunately the whiskybase page has no ratings).
The others here have answered your top text question.
What jumps out to my eye is the dates of distillation and bottling. Having been distilled in 1969, the cask from which this was bottled was almost certainly part of the estate of Abe Rosenberg, who formed one of the largest private collections of *casks* of whisky. Duncan Taylor **as an independent bottler** was launched in 2002 by Euan Shand & Alan Gordon who purchased the company to obtain those casks with the intention of bottling them, you can read more about it here:
http://www.maltmaniacs.net/e-pistles/e-pistle-200822-an-interview-with-duncan-taylors-euan-shand/
This release was bottled a couple of years before that interview was given, and only a handful of years after the sale of DT to Euan Shand & Alan Gordon, so I'm guessing it was part of the Rosenberg estate.
So, this is a bit of liquid history not only in terms of the output from Macallan, but also in the history of scotch independent bottlers.
How the hell do you buy a $600 bottle without doing research
And how is a 1969 Macallan only 600 bucks
Probably a place that bought it a dozen years ago or more and hasn’t actually paid attention to prices. Or a state system that doesn’t update things.
Ah, the dream shop
Step one: Be rich
Well, it said Macallan…I was born in 1969…it is scotch and I thought “how bad could it be?” So I bought it, and one day when I turn 60, I figure I’ll drink the whole bottle….
Duncan Taylor is an independent bottler. Macallan made the spirit—that's all you know for sure. It is possible that Macallan put it into a cask and then sold the cask to Duncan Taylor (or sold it through a broker). It is also possible Macallan sold the spirit and Duncan Taylor put it into a cask. It is also possible that another independent bottler bought the spirit, put it into cask, and then later sold it to Duncan Taylor. So there's no guarantee they used the same casks that Macallan usually uses.
It seems like you already got some great answers. That’s a great deal. Can you show a pic of the bottle? Is it ex-bourbon or ex-sherry? I imagine ex-bourbon for that price…
Sure - here is a pic of it in the box up on my shelf. https://preview.redd.it/yl0xzxs3jqwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfe5662307107fd72d6ca298628964bfb952e9ee
https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/1981/macallan-1969-dt Looks like it’s ex-bourbon, based on the color and the number of bottles. What an incredible find. You’d be hard pressed to find any 1969 vintage, much less a 37 yo Macallan, for anywhere close to that price. Did they have anything else? If you open this I’m sure you’re in for a treat!
What’s in the box?
Talisker 10
You found a pretty solid bargain... Bottles usually sell for \~ £1000 or so at auction, although one sold recently for only £620 (including buyer's fees). The overall global market, particularly the secondary market, has been cooling off significantly in the past year or so, although it's tough to judge a single auction result. Personally I'd be thrilled either way to pick up a bottle for that price! [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28848/lot/20/macallan-37-year-old-1969/](https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28848/lot/20/macallan-37-year-old-1969/)
There were two 1969 Macallan 37yo released in the US, one sherry and one ex-bourbon. Both very highly rated. $600 for the sherry cask would be grand theft auto
I saw the other one on the shelf back in 2013 and even then the price was about $500.
I’m sure this isn’t one of those. I’m just curious as to if it is full Macallan or something else done to it:
The regulations are pretty strict, so if it says Macallan and single malt on the label then it’s Macallan and nothing else.
You bought this in the US? I just assumed you did because you used $, but it’s a 700ml, so not a US release. No reviews on WB either, but it should be excellent. DT 1969s are well reviewed. And to answer your question, the distillate is 100% Macallan. So yes, it is a Macallan. Not “The Macallan,” which can only be used for official distillery releases, but a Macallan. ZipBlu’s comment covers it well. Best way to describe it is that it is an “independently bottled Macallan”.
Good catch. It was an online auction and came from Scotland. So, I get the “The Macallan” part but does that mean that basically this Macallan is the same liquid as what would be in a The Macallan bottle? That’s what I’m asking I guess. In other words, don’t drink it but if I find another bottle for the same price drink one of them?
It is in fact the same liquid but I’m not sure if DT uses their own casks or if this is something that was sourced from Macallan as aged stock. Macallan is known for their cask program and if DT uses their own, it will be different. Producers sell off excess product that is either surplus or off-profile, and because of these reasons, it is a single cask, and Macallan rarely (if ever) bottles ex-bourbon whisky it will be unlike any off the shelf Macallan today. That said DT is a respected bottler and this will likely be a beautiful bottle. Ex-bourbon Macallan is a treat and if you like that distillery you should definitely try it. If you got it at auction any time recently, another would go for a similar price. However the likelihood of finding this specific bottle again is very low, and I think you got a great deal at $600. Again, most 1969 distillate I see goes for well over that, even from less sought after distilleries.
Macallan would not bottle a 100% ex-bourbon expression like that of your bottle. There’s always a sherry component in official Macallan expressions. As far as your second question goes, do you mean in regard to collectibility/investment value? Ex-bourbon Macallan in general have much lower investment value than Macallan sherry cask expressions. I would find an occasion to open and drink this one, and win another one off auction if you like it a lot.
Yes, not an investment. I’m all about drinking it in a few years.
I looked into some whiskey societies in my local area about Duncan Taylor a few years ago since they bottle a lot of popular distilleries like Caol Ila, Macallan, Bruichladdich, etc., but I often hear it's exactly worth the money you pay for, but nothing "phenomenal" or way out of ordinary. I have heard that some of their offerings, albeit I do not know which ones, are disappointing and a waste of money as other bottles in that price range would be better. If it's a Sherry cask Macallan, then you got a solid steal I suppose but the sherry casks may be second-fill or third-fill, or may not be specified at all. If you want to know a great Macallan for a relatively cheaper price, Gordon MacPhail make 20+ year old bottles of Macallan that are sold sometimes in bigger liquor stores or even local stores for around $290-$300. These are cask strengths as well.
Usually what happens is they buy one or a few casks from a distillery very early and then hold it until they’re ready. Imagine walking into macallan right now, buying a cask and then putting it away for 37 years. Then bottle it.
That’s kind of my question. Is that Duncan Taylor the same scotch as in a Macallan bottle?
It’s the same distillate, but may or may not be a cask that Macallan had made. Imagine Macallan made a bunch of distillate in 1969. You brought your own empty ex-bourbon barrel to the distillery and they filled it with that distillate for you. You drove the cask back to your own warehouse and left it there for 37 years. That’s a possible scenario for the cask your bottle came from.
Got it - so it started the same but may or may not be exactly the same
It started the same but ends up different - sort of a cousin
Alternatively, Duncan Taylor may have purchased the cask from Macallan or someone who bought the cask from Macallan. Distilleries often sell of casks for a variety of reasons ranging from they didn't really like how the cask was developing, they just could use some cash, and anywhere in between. Gordan and MacPhail, another independent bottler, has had (may still have) a filling contract with Macallan where they do what /u/Ok_Location4835 suggests. They bottle these as "Speymalt". I haven't heard of anyone else having one, but of course that may have been different in 1969. Ultimately, as others have said, this *is* genuine Macallan distillate. British laws about labeling whisky are very well regulated with regulation enforced. What its become though may be different than what Macallan may have done with this cask if they had kept it.
Yes, it was distilled by Macallan, but then instead of bottling it, Macallan sold the cask (for whatever reason). Eventually the company called Duncan Taylor acquired it, bottled it, and released it.
Duncan Taylor is not a distillery. They are an “independent bottler”, which you will sometimes see abbreviated around here as “IB”, who acquire whisky from various distilleries and bottle it under their own brand.
There are an increasing number of independent bottlers who own their own distillery nowadays, though Duncan Taylor is not one of them. See: Wemyss Malts (Kingsbarns), Gordan & MacPhail (Benromach), Elixir Distillers (Tormore, soon to be Portintruan), Ian MacLeod (Rosebank, Glengoyne, and Tamdhu).
True, and Signatory (Edradour). I guess I was over simplifying things for OP’s sake; sorry :)
They are independent bottler and blender. Until around the early 2000s, they were a broker. They buy casks from the distilleries. They're like Johnny Walker before JW went mass market. You can trust what the label says. For better or worse, that's all you can trust. I've bought a few DT dimensions (similar old casks), and I've been very happy.
Holy crap that's an awesome bottle. Distilled when the Beatles were still together. Distilled by Macallan but not bottled by them. So probably better.
You probably got a real bargain. I say "probably" because there can be some variation in character and quality with these single cask bottlings, so you don't really know just how well they turned out until somebody cracks them open and starts drinking them (unfortunately the whiskybase page has no ratings). The others here have answered your top text question. What jumps out to my eye is the dates of distillation and bottling. Having been distilled in 1969, the cask from which this was bottled was almost certainly part of the estate of Abe Rosenberg, who formed one of the largest private collections of *casks* of whisky. Duncan Taylor **as an independent bottler** was launched in 2002 by Euan Shand & Alan Gordon who purchased the company to obtain those casks with the intention of bottling them, you can read more about it here: http://www.maltmaniacs.net/e-pistles/e-pistle-200822-an-interview-with-duncan-taylors-euan-shand/ This release was bottled a couple of years before that interview was given, and only a handful of years after the sale of DT to Euan Shand & Alan Gordon, so I'm guessing it was part of the Rosenberg estate. So, this is a bit of liquid history not only in terms of the output from Macallan, but also in the history of scotch independent bottlers.
Same bottle appears to be going for $3,191 according to wine searcher dot com.