Updated:
Readtime: 4 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
- The Macallan has unveiled the Romantica Collection, a 1986 Vintage single-cask whisky
- Its release marks 100 years since The Macallan 1926 was laid down
- Just 258 bottles will be released, split across three artist editions by Sir Peter Blake, Valerio Adami and Michael Dillon
The Macallan has unveiled the Romantica Collection, a new 1986 Vintage single-cask whisky release created to mark 100 years since The Macallan 1926 was first laid down.
Whisky collectors won’t need much reminding of The Macallan 1926. It went on to become the most valuable bottle of wine or spirit ever sold at auction. The Valerio Adami-labelled bottle, sold through Sotheby’s London, fetched £2.18 million (approx. AUD $4.2 million) in 2023.
So when The Macallan releases a new whisky this closely tied to the 1926, collectors pay attention. For Romantica, The Macallan has brought back three artists closely tied to the 1926 story: Sir Peter Blake, Valerio Adami and Michael Dillon. Each has created new artwork for Romantica, giving the release a direct line back to one of whisky’s most famous bottles.
Related: The Macallan Whisky Definitive Hierarchy
A 1986 Single-Cask Release with a 1926 Connection
The Romantica Collection comes from a single sherry-seasoned European oak cask, cask no. 9925, which was filled and laid down on The Macallan Estate in 1986.
That timing is no accident. It was the same year The Macallan 1926 finished its 60-year maturation and was poured into just 40 bottles. For Kirsteen Campbell, Master Whisky Maker at The Macallan, the link between cask, time and flavour is central to the release.
“Over decades of slumber, the whisky has evolved with extraordinary grace, developing a luminous character of fruits, spice and rich oak,” Campbell said.
Romantica is bottled at 48.6% ABV and limited to 258 bottles in total. Each artist edition is limited to 86 bottles, with labels personally signed by the artist. However, you won’t be able to buy these bottles individually. The collection will only be available as a complete three-bottle set.
And while we love a bundle, for a whisky this prestigious, we shiver at the eventual price point. The Macallan hasn’t officially confirmed pricing yet, but reports suggest the collection will sell for around $105,000 USD (Approx. $150,000 AUD)
The Artists Behind the Romantica Collection
The Macallan has gone back to the three artists already tied to the 1926 release. According to Jaume Ferras, Creative Director at The Macallan, the collection is about “revisiting the legacy of The Macallan 1926” through artists whose work already helped shape the bottle’s reputation.
Ferras said the new artworks bring “fresh meaning to a whisky shaped quietly over decades”, tying the release directly to the mythology of the 1926.
Sir Peter Blake’s contribution, The Music Room, imagines a crowd gathered outside Easter Elchies House in 1986, the year the Romantica whisky was laid down and The Macallan 1926 was bottled.
Valerio Adami’s Romantica draws from a 1986 sketch and represents Janet “Nettie” Harbinson, The Macallan custodian who laid down the 1926 cask a century ago.
Michael Dillon’s The Macallan Estate focuses on Speyside, with the brand’s modern distillery sitting almost hidden beneath its grass-covered roof.
What The Macallan Says It Tastes Like
The whisky itself is being described by The Macallan as bright and fruit-led, with notes of apricot conserve, canned peaches, crystallised ginger, cinnamon, antique oak and light woodsmoke on the nose. The palate brings brown sugar, glazed peach, lychee, dark cherries, treacle and a subtle hint of peat, followed by dried fruit, leather and cacao on the finish.
Each bottle is housed in a bespoke European oak presentation box decorated with the relevant artist’s work. Inside, the bottle is joined by a numbered certificate signed by Master Whisky Maker Kirsteen Campbell, a removable collection booklet and a limited-edition giclée art print.
The Macallan Romantica Collection will be available directly from The Macallan from 30 July 2026. Pricing has not yet been confirmed. For most drinkers, this will be a whisky to admire from a distance. Given the bottle count and the complete-set format, that is probably where most of them will stay.
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.