Macallan Whiskey Prices Guide (Updated 2022)

Macallan Whiskey is one of the most famous Whiskeys from Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1824 and since then has produced a range of mid priced single malts, premium malts and blends with much acclaim.

With so many Macallan products on the market, it’s difficult to know which whiskey to buy. With this in mind, let’s take a look at Macallan Whiskey prices and what to expect from this world famous distillery.

Macallan Whiskey: It’s All in the Name

Macallan is undoubtedly a big name in Scotch, and despite being an old distillery, it sells over 700,000 barrels of spirit each year. The most sought after Macallan bottles have also increased in value by 4,000% between 2017 and 2018. That’s an eye watering number. With that sort of demand, the price of Macallan has escalated over the last few years. Their entry level, accessible Macallan 12 year starts around $50 for a 750ml bottle, but there are whiskies in their collection that are aged over fifty years and sell at auctions for ridiculous amounts!

Why is Macallan So Expensive?

The demand for Macallan, and the willingness to pay large amounts of money for a single bottle, are largely driven by reputation and status. It’s one of the most sought after whiskey’s due to:

  • Being a Speyside Whiskey: With the exception of Islay whiskeys, Strathspey (Speyside) whiskeys are often the best selling, including budget and mid-budget whiskeys such as Glenfiddich and Glenlivet. Being able to label a whiskey as a Speyside spirit boosts sales in the same way that the Champagne region in France does for sparkling wines.
  • Speyside Notes: Most whiskeys in Scotland are a product of the water and ingredients in the surrounding area. While Islay whiskeys are peaty because of the land used to grow grain, in Speyside, there is a lighter, sweeter taste to the harvest. This produces a grassy taste in whiskeys like Glenlivet, but a deep rich and sweet taste in Macallan, which goes down easily.
  • Cask Sourcing: The Macallan distillery is famous for finding the highest quality casks in which to store and age their whiskeys. These include oak casks, sherry casks, and even bourbon casks which transmit some of those tasting notes into the aged whiskey, giving it complexity.
  • Reputation: A distillery lives and dies on its reputation. The Macallan Distillery has built a reputation for making premium whiskey. This then has resulted in Macallan Whiskey becoming a status symbol for rich collectors and businesspeople. Owning a 40 year old bottle of Macallan screams wealth, for good and for bad.

Macallan Whiskey Prices

Common Macallan Whiskey Prices List

Type

Size

Price

Proof

Macallan 25 Years Old

750ml

$1599.99 - $1899.99

86

Macallan 21 Years Old Fine Oak

750ml

$499.99 - $599.99

86

Macallan 18 Year Fine Oak

750ml

$239.99 - $269.99

86

Macallan 12 Years Old

750ml

$49.99 - $66.99

80

Macallan 12 Year Double Cask

750ml

$59.99 - $62.99

80

Macallan 10 Years Old Fine Oak

750ml

$42.99 - $49.99

80

Macallan Whisky Makers Edition Scotch

750ml

$86.99 - $89.99

85.6

Having been producing whiskeys for well over 100 years, Macallan has a vast range of products. These whiskeys don’t skew towards the budget conscious, but despite some whiskeys costing thousands of dollars, there are some great Macallan bottles available at a mid-range budget. As one of Scotland’s most productive distillery’s, Macallan produces a large variation of spirits.

Let’s take a look at Macallan’s range and what each whiskey offers you:

Sherry Oak

These single malts have been aged in Oloroso sherry seasoned oak casks. That gives the whiskey a sweeter quality which becomes richer the more it is aged:

  • Sherry Oak, 12 Years Old: A rich ,complex 12 year old Scotch. Wood spice and dried fruits notes. 40% volume. Available for around $90.
  • Sherry Oak, 18 Years Old: Light mahogany color with hints of vanilla and cinnamon. 43
    % volume. Available for around $280.
  • Sherry Oak, 25 Years Old: Sherry and wood smoke notes with a dried fruit and wood smoke finish. One of Macallan’s highest rated whiskeys, scoring 100 out of 100 on taste tests. 43% in volume. Available for around $1,600.
  • Sherry Oak, 30 years Old: Orange, nutmeg and wood smoke nose and finish. Intense without being abrasive. Honey notes and a smooth texture. 43% in volume. Available for around $2,000.
  • Sherry Oak, 40 Years Old: Comes in a 2016 and 2017 bottled variant. A lightly peated whiskey with citrus, cinnamon and chocolate notes. Not to mention a smokey palate and spicy finish. One of the most expensive mass produced whiskeys in the world. Prices range from $10,000 to about $30,000 depending on demand and the year of its bottling.

Double Cask Macallan

Double cask whiskey’s involve aging the spirit in one cask and then moving it to another so that the spirit takes on characteristics of both.

Macallan offers two such whiskeys:

  • Double Cask Gold: A light gold colored blended spirit with the sweetness of American oak and citrus and boiled sweets notes. 40% in volume. Available for around $50.
  • Double Cask 12 years Old: A single malt. Darker than the Double Cask Gold. A gully rounded whiskey with honey and ginger notes. 43% in volume. Available for around $60.

Triple Cask Macallan

Just like double cask, only this time the spirit spends time in three different casks to create an even more complex marriage of flavors and notes. It should be noted that the triple cask range has replaced the Fine Oak series, although some stock may still be out there.

Macallan produces three of these whiskeys:

  • Triple Cask Matured 12 Years Old: With a gingerbread nose, dried fruit palate, and a subtle cedar finish, the complexity of the triple cask method can be enjoyed here. Bottled at 43% and available for around $70.
  • Triple Cask Matured 15 Years Old: Introduced in 2018. A unique salted butter and poached pear palate with a smokey foundation. 43% in volume. Available for around $130.
  • Triple Cask Matured 18 years Old: Matured in European sherr, American sherry, and American bourbon casks, this malt has a strong flavor with hints of vanilla, dried fruit, and woody spice. 43% volume. Available for around $260.

The Macallan Quest Collection

The concept behind the Quest Collection is to mature Macallan whiskey in unique casks sourced from different regions around the world.

  • The Macallan Quest: A soft single malt. Subtle apple with ginger flavors mix with vanilla sweetness. Medium sweet. 40% in volume. Available for around $180.
  • The Macallan Lumina: Sherry seasoned in European and American oak casks. While sherry matured, has more of a toffee flavor. 41% volume. Available for around $130.
  • The Macallan Terra:  American and European oak casks.Coffee nose with dried fruit and strawberry jam palate. A long dried oak finish. 43% in volume. Available for around $180.
  • The Macallan Enigma: The high end of the Quest range. Matured exclusively in European oak sherry casks. A rich, sweet whiskey with an oak finish and a touch of chocolate. 44% in volume. Available for around $260.

Other Macallan Whiskeys

Macallan has released a number of other rare and limited edition whiskey ranges. In order to keep this article relevant, we’ve decided not to list them, as they change on a yearly basis. However, a complete list of all Macallan whiskeys can be read here.

Conclusion

Macallan whiskey is one of the most popular mid to high budget whiskey brands in the world. But good deals can be found. We hope our price guide has given you a good idea of what to expect, and what the market value of these wonderful spirits are.

We’d love to hear your experiences of Macallan. Is it worth the high expense? Do you prefer another brand? What’s your favorite Macallan whiskey? Please do let us know in the comments below.

5 thoughts on “Macallan Whiskey Prices Guide (Updated 2022)”

  1. good morning i was curious to the retail value of a macallan easter elchies 2019 also macallan 1985 15yr old whisky,any information would be a great help,thanks for your help matt trisic

    Reply
  2. Very well written article, but the writer does not spell the liquor from Scotland correctly.
    Scotch is spelled “whisky”, not “whiskey” – no “e” in scotch. Just read the Macallan labels.
    Whiskey ( with an “e”) usually means bourbon, rye and Irish whiskey.

    Reply

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