Tatler+ The Macallan
Now open in K11 Musea, experience the journey from inspiration to masterpiece for yourself in a generation-defining collaboration
For a heritage brand like The Macallan that is so steeped in lore, the artistic technique of collage is the only suitable way to capture the breadth and depth of its history. It's only natural, therefore, that Sir Peter Blake—whose distinctive collage art adorns album covers for the likes of The Beatles and The Who—has been the unofficial storyteller for the famed Speyside distillery over the decades, having first collaborated in 1986 to produce a bespoke label for The Macallan 1926, as well as on his 80th birthday in 2012 to create a unique, limited-edition art piece.
2021 marks his third time partnering with The Macallan, this time for the Anecdotes of Ages collection, a landmark offering of 13 one-of-a-kind bottles containing an exceptional whisky expression that dates back to 1967. Marking a year that was a historic turning point of widespread societal change and revolution, the prized whisky was chosen for its classic yet distinctively colourful character, with notes of oak, hazelnut and strawberry tempered by hints of fig, pineapple, mango and peach.
Each bottle features a handcrafted label by none other than Sir Peter Blake himself, featuring his signature collages that draw from the innumerable stories which surround The Macallan's history, community and Estate. From the workhorses that used to plough the surrounding fields, to the mausoleum that stands on the grounds of the Estate, each label tells a seminal tale that, viewed together, forms the legacy of The Macallan. Among them, 'A New Era of Advertising', which recounts The Macallan's first advertising campaign in the 1970s, was recently auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York in March 2021, selling for US$437,500 with proceeds going to benefit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s diversity, equity, access, and inclusion initiatives in the New York metropolitan area.
This momentous collaboration is fleshed out in The Anecdotes of Ages experience at K11 Musea, which takes visitors through the journey of the creation of the 13 bottles, from a faithful replica of Sir Peter Blake's studio, to an infinity room that evokes the endless fields of golden barley, and finally, the main room where the labels of the 13 bottles are displayed. Anchoring the space is 'The Giant and the Fish', the only bottle from the Anecdotes of Ages collection to be shown in Hong Kong.
