News

Macallan enlists top photographer to capture Scottish character

30 October 2013 By db staff writer

The Macallan has commissioned highly influential photographer Elliott Erwitt to capture the fourth edition of its Masters of Photography series.

Tasked with capturing the spirit of The Macallan’s heartland in a “Great Scottish Adventure”, Erwitt has interpreted the Scottish character using “his observational skill and subtle humorous style”.

The Masters of Photography: Elliott Erwitt Edition is The Macallan’s most extensive to date with 58 unique single cask whiskies being paired with a different signed 11” x 14” Elliott Erwitt print captured during his Scottish adventure.

Only 35 of each of the exclusive pairings are available, making a complete global release of 2,030. The Elliott Erwitt Edition comprises a photo-archival book featuring a total of 158 images, shot by Elliott during the process, with a 35/37.5cl handmade glass flask containing a single cask malt whisky concealed within its pages.

Erwitt is responsible some of the most iconic and powerful photographs of our time, including the poignant portrait of Jackie Kennedy at her husband’s funeral, and intimate shots of Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits.

Speaking about the Macallan project he said, “Photography is an art of observation – it’s about creating something extraordinary out of the ordinary. You choose a frame and then wait until the right time for something magical to come along and fill it. I realised while working on this project that this is exactly the way Bob, the whisky maker, works when creating The Macallan. He envisages how he wants a particular whisky to taste, selects the perfect cask to create it, and then he waits! Timing is everything.”

This collection is completely unique in terms of its scale and breadth of single cask malt Scotch whiskies, each of which has been personally selected by Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno to interpret the essence of its corresponding photograph.

“Selecting 58 individual single cask malt whiskies to bring to life Elliott’s 58 favourite images of his Great Scottish Adventure was wonderfully challenging – tasting the image through the whisky and the whisky through the image on such an unprecedented scale was inspiring,” commented Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan’s whisky maker.

The Macallan Masters of Photography series features exclusive collaborations with legendary photographers. Previous editions were authored by Rankin, Albert Watson and Annie Leibovitz.

The Masters of Photography: Elliott Erwitt Edition is available worldwide starting from October 2013, priced at US$1,500.