Fine and Rare 1990s Global EN

Nelson Mandela visited Scotland as apartheid was being dismantled. The Maastricht Treaty was finally negotiated, simultaneously creating the European Union and lighting a long fuse under British politics. The first trains took test runs through the channel tunnel.

While some news in the 1990s was, as with every decade, earth shattering, earth mattering stories became increasingly notable. Concern for the planet was on the march.

Photography by Tim Walker, inspired by The Macallan Estate.

On Easter Elchies Estate, this was hardly revolutionary. Then, as now, The Macallan revelled in its natural home, beside the River Spey, in a peaceful, rural setting. The elements of whisky making – spring water, barley, oak – were patiently combined to create superlative single malt whisky. Profound respect for the local flora, fauna and landscape was evidenced in the responsibility shown towards them. That ethos continues to this day in a fully sustainable drive towards zero carbon.

The Fine & Rare 1993 is therefore neither the outturn, nor the upshot, of some passing fad. Warmly redolent, it was selected for its balance, influenced by the harmony of the spirit, the particular sherry seasoned American oak and the time spent in cask.

It is, absolutely, a crafted product of its era. As with quirks in the weather, so there are joyful accents, natural variations that make the bottlings of Fine & Rare single malts from The Macallan such magic.