When Vesper slid into the empty train seat in front of James Bond and said, “I’m the money” in Casino Royale, I was hooked. The train scene remains our favourite three minutes of Bond canon, but a close second happens in Skyfall, where Bond pretends to be dead to run away from it all. The morning after a wild party, he’s the only one still left at the bar. So, he helps himself to The Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year Old on the shelf.
It’s the first time The Macallan appears in a James Bond film. It wasn’t the last. The whisky appears several more times in Skyfall and also pops up in Spectre.
The ageless 007 turned 60 late last year and to celebrate this anniversary, The Macallan created a collection of six limited edition single malt whiskies, one for each decade of Bond, packaged as The Macallan James Bond 60th Anniversary Release.
Master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell created a single malt to reflect Bond’s character. The result is a spirit with grace, strength and depth—qualities similar to Ian Fleming’s creation. It might also surprise many that Bond has Scottish heritage, penned into existence by Fleming after being impressed with Scotsman Sean Connery’s portrayal of the secret agent in 1962’s Dr No. In later books, the author revealed Bond attended Fettes College in Edinburgh and that his father was from Glen Coe.
This Scottish heritage links James Bond and The Macallan, both innovators in their respective fields, together. As part of the collection, The Macallan also created six unique package designs. Each depicts a specific image from different James Bond films across the six decades and shines the spotlight on the creative development process by exploring the rarely seen James Bond archives. The packages have also been colour washed with a trending colour of that decade. My favourite: the dark grey colour (below, far right) that dominates the childhood home of Bond in Glen Coe, as depicted in Skyfall.
Beyond The Macallan James Bond 60th Anniversary release, there will be multiple activations throughout the year including The Macallan In Cinema exhibition at The Macallan Estate, exclusive James Bond screenings and much, much more. It’s a celebration of two Scottish icons at the peak of their powers. Being fans of The Macallan and James Bond, consider us stoked.
Just like us, you, too, can register your interest for The Macallan James Bond 60th Anniversary release at: The Macallan Boutique at Raffles Hotel Singapore.
