The Macallan Estate

The Macallan’s Six Pillars are at the core of The Macallan Estate experience. These touch on the key production tenets of The Macallan: the knowledge, the skill, the investment and the highest possible standards involved in making every drop. Reworking the Six Pillars tour paved the way for a series of projects where we could further enrich the visitor experience and give guests a truly personal connection to the luxury brand. 
 
To deliver a consistent and engaging guest experience, several of the existing installations had an upgrade. The unique wood story of The Macallan, which details the journey from acorn to cask, was reinterpreted and finished with a backdrop of beautifully designed copper panels. The reimagined experience now informs guests while complementing the incredible surroundings.

As well as upgrading the installations, we designed a brand new display which gives a hands-on introduction to barley. This new installation brings a natural, tactile element to the experience, encouraging guests to really connect with The Macallan whisky. 
 
No whisky experience is complete without a tasting. The Cave Priveé bar sits at the heart of the distillery and plays host to the final tasting ritual – it needed to be an unforgettable tasting, in keeping with the rest of the guest experience and the awe-inspiring surroundings. A beautiful new bar was designed in modular form – with the materials inlaid into each podium representing one of the Six Pillars, and a lighting programme designed to complement the flow of the tasting.

Before guests could enjoy the newly-designed experience, first they had to find it. The arrival onto The Macallan Estate is beautiful and dramatic; gradually revealing more of itself, winding alongside the River Spey, but the nearer visitors got to the grounds, the less obvious the route became.

Working with the Macallan team, we assessed the existing visitor journey and created a completely new signage system with clear wayfinding throughout the estate and distillery. Consistent and impactful graphic language that complemented the brand and building architecture was installed throughout and delivered a visitor journey that gave guests a proper welcome to The Macallan.

While the guest experience at The Macallan Estate seeks to engage and educate, The Boutique exists to inspire The Macallan lifestyle, providing guests the means to continue to enjoy The Macallan beyond their visit. The existing retail space had some impracticalities and our knowledge of luxury retail experiences came into its own to create the new flagship boutique. The new space is its own distinct experience within the distillery while still synonymous with the rest of the estate. 

The Boutique contains every single expression of The Macallan currently available. It is much more than a shop, it is also a fascinating archive of The Macallan’s continuing legacy. Provisions for exclusive releases and collaborations were integrated into the new design, and every item on sale – from a single postcard to the rarest expression – is now displayed with pride.  

The exceptional, high quality of the bespoke cabinet work throughout the space is all in keeping with The Macallan brand. With storytelling opportunities available for all products, visitors now feel ensconced in the luxury of The Macallan lifestyle.

Each phase of our work with The Macallan connects to one another, and to the same objective of an engaging visitor experience that complements and personifies this exceptional luxury brand.