Distil Your World
A Whisky Inspired by London
"It’s definitely a challenge. Trying to take something as big as a city like London and bottle it is something that we’ve not looked at before."
- Steven Bremner, The Macallan’s Whisky Maker
London is a diverse city with a rich history, and is one of the cultural and innovation centres of the world. United by an insatiable curiosity, quest for knowledge and dedication to mastery, The Macallan and the Roca brothers, owners of El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, immersed themselves in London to explore different cultures and source inspiration for their own worlds of whisky-making and gastronomy.
In this quest to distil a city, they spent time with the people who make London the creative, entrepreneurial and vibrant city it is. The Macallan’s whisky maker Steven Bremner had a special challenge, seeking to create a whisky that embodies London’s special charisma, and captures the people, experiences, colours and history that ultimately define the city.
In this quest to distil a city, they spent time with the people who make London the creative, entrepreneurial and vibrant city it is. The Macallan’s whisky maker Steven Bremner had a special challenge, seeking to create a whisky that embodies London’s special charisma, and captures the people, experiences, colours and history that ultimately define the city.
Mapping London
Ultimately, this journey led Steven Bremner and the Roca brothers to craft their own complex and sensorial map of the city. They visited food markets, and discussed food waste, visited tailoring houses and college professors, exploring diverse fields not usually connected to the world of single malt whisky.
From London parks to futuristic technology and heritage fashion, London revealed rich depth and complexity across spaces and places, industries and processes.
From London parks to futuristic technology and heritage fashion, London revealed rich depth and complexity across spaces and places, industries and processes.
Meeting the people that we’ve met, getting their thoughts on flavour and what they do makes you reflective: can you do things better?
Steven Bremner
A Lens on London
Balance
“London has a long history with tea. Tea-making is about the right amount of leaves, and the right amount of water and time.”
Edward Eisler, Jing Tea
Edward Eisler, Jing Tea
Community Spirit
“We deliver 80,000 meals for people in need, every week.”
Laura Winningham, CEO of City Harvest
Laura Winningham, CEO of City Harvest
Fashion
“It’s buying into the heritage. You’re supporting the craftsmanship handed down over hundreds of years.”
Davide Taub, Gieves & Hawkes
Davide Taub, Gieves & Hawkes
Innovation
“London is probably the only city where you get everything you want from a cultural point of view, from a talent point of view, an innovation point of view.”
Mischa Dohler, Technology Professor at King’s College
Mischa Dohler, Technology Professor at King’s College
Sustainability
“We don’t waste anything. My mother would always say that we used every grain of rice.”
Asma Khan, Owner of Darjeeling Express Restaurant
Asma Khan, Owner of Darjeeling Express Restaurant
History
“You can see how the globe has come to London, and how London has embraced global cuisine and made it its own.”
Annie Gray, Food Historian
Annie Gray, Food Historian
Finding Flavours
With this sensory map of London as inspiration, Steven worked with the Roca brothers to masterfully select the perfect combination of six first-fill, European oak, Oloroso sherry-seasoned casks to translate London’s values into an extraordinary single malt, with unique tasting notes representing the spirit of the city.
Flavours like lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, curry, tea…they are not typical flavour descriptors that you would see on a whisky.
Steven Bremner
Creating the Whisky
Steven developed a character-led whisky encapsulating nuances of orange caramel, curry spice and Earl Grey tea, notes that are rare to find in our single malts. This expression takes the taste buds and imagination on a journey of discovery, bringing London’s soul and unique character to life.
Seeking out these distinctive flavours among thousands of casks was a complex and highly skilled process, but Steven Bremner and the Roca brothers’ mastery of flavour, aroma and craftsmanship enabled them to distil the essence of London into a remarkable whisky. Josep Roca, said: “The places we visited, the people we met, all that now takes shape in this whisky – our own distillation of the London essence. There is part of umami, the subtle touch of curry, orange, vanilla and raisin. There are some special notes that are really rare to find.”
London, Distilled
The limited single malt whisky Distil Your World: The London Edition is inspired by our journey together with the Roca brothers through an uncharted London, with the purpose of distilling its soul and capturing the unique essence, aroma and flavour of the city in an exceptional single malt whisky.