The Mastery Of Space & Time: THE MACALLAN HORIZON

The Macallan Horizon is a limited edition single malt whisky created in partnership with Bentley Motors. The whisky is made with the finest ingredients and is hand-crafted in small batches.

The concept reflects both the partnership’s shared drive to innovation and its fundamental commitment to sustainability. It combines conventional workmanship with repurposed components and a unique horizontal design. Bentley Motors and The Macallan jointly developed the prototype over the course of a protracted procedure. This concept captures a shared desire to utilise both businesses’ rich histories to create a sustainable future.

The Macallan Horizon features six distinctive salvaged, repurposed, or ethically sourced materials that are essential to The Macallan and Bentley Motors as a nod to the brand’s renowned Six Pillars, the cornerstones of which account for its distinctive single malt whiskies.

A Harmony of Six Key Sustainable Materials

The prototype vessel that has been jointly crafted is unlike any bottle of whisky in history, and the unique design defies the traditional vertical aesthetic of a whisky bottle. The vessel reflects the horizontal trajectory of a car, and it sits horizontally in a purpose-built cradle. It has no standing base, which makes it different from other whisky bottles.

At the heart of the design is a hand-made glass bottle with an extraordinary 180-degree twist, representing the mastery of space and time achieved by The Macallan and Bentley Motors in creating the prototype.

The vessel is then surrounded by an intricately twisted 3D structure crafted in a suite of beautiful, sustainable materials.

The arms of the structure are crafted in:

  • Recycled copper from the disused, curiously small spirit stills which were located within The Macallan’s former distillery.

  • Aluminium recovered from the production of the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga at Bentley’s home in Crewe, England.

  • Recycled wood from both brands.

  • The world’s lowest CO2 leather, locally-sourced in Scotland, and also used in the highly exclusive Bentley Mulliner Batur grand tourer unveiled yesterday.

The final component will be the extraordinary single malt whisky being crafted for the release, which will also tell its own story of recycling and sustainability.

Bentley’s Product and Lifestyle Design Manager, Chris Cooke, comments:

“Our prototype for The Macallan Horizon is truly pioneering in both its design and use of materials. It’s a fusion of the sharply defined yet curvaceous Bentley design DNA, The Macallan’s innovation and recycled materials from both iconic British brands. The form of the design has allowed us to treat light as a material in itself, and the interplay between light and repurposed wood, aluminium and copper is extraordinary. In being both an object of beauty in itself and having such strong sustainability elements, it’s a representation of what’s coming next from our partnership.”

Jaume Ferras, Global Creative Director for The Macallan, comments:

“Taking inspiration from the car industry, we are showcasing our creative development of The Macallan Horizon, which is among the most ground-breaking projects we have embarked on in our 200-year history.

“Working with Bentley Motors has inspired us to see things differently. In the whisky world, everything is upright, such as our stills and our bottles. When we looked at the horizontal direction pursued by Bentley Motors as part of the automotive industry, it made us consider if and how we could adapt this format for whisky, which ultimately requires to be poured.

“I am incredibly proud of the revolutionary design we have created for The Macallan Horizon and the unique sustainable materials we are incorporating as part of our commitment to a better world. It simply would not be possible without the incomparable craftsmanship and creativity for which The Macallan and Bentley Motors are renowned, and is the embodiment of the uncompromised excellence pursued by The Macallan since 1824.”

The Macallan Horizon will launch in Summer 2023.