“Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whiskey makes it go round twice as fast!!”                                                                                       – Compton Mackenzie

Perfected by the Scottish distillers, Scotch whisky is one of Scotland’s most desired cultural products. There are a few key ingredients required in the process of making a good scotch, things that are specific to Scotland only, like the Scottish peat used to smoke the barley, or the Scottish oak to make the maturation casks, or the Scottish air to seep through the casks and give the spirit its character.

Scottish distillers take much pride in their labor, which requires immense dedication, precise and selective judgment of aroma, taste, and flavor, and knowledge of traditions of their mentors who have helped to make Scotch an international success. Scotland is the only nation in the world that knows exactly how to make true Scotch whisky.

Amongst the myriad labels of Scotch present in the market today, The Macallan M Imperiale, 6-litre Lalique decanter – Constantine, got sold at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong on 23 January 2014 for $628,000. This is the most expensive scotch sold till date and created a new Guinness World Record.

The Macallan “M” decanter is an association of The Macallan whisky, Lalique crystal and Fabien Baron founder and creative director of Baron & Baron.

The legendary French crystal house Lalique, exclusively designed for The Macallan, this unique decanter to bring forth an unique iconic bottle of the finest Scotch in the world.

It is believed that forty decanters were created and discarded before being able to successfully blow the Constantine into life…the sheer size and weight of a crystal of these proportions took the decanter to the limit of its breaking point. The 6-Litre “M” decanter was the outcome of over 50 hours of hard labor by close to twenty craftsmen.

The exquisitely crafted and cut crystal decanter is said to take its inspiration from the The Macallan’s finest cut, that fraction of the new make spirit which is filled into casks for maturation.

The whiskey maker Bob Dalgarno from team Macallan, drew this prized lot from a selection Spanish oak sherry casks, with an ageing of 30 years to 75 years.

Macallan Scotch Whiskeys are immensely popular across the world and their rarity and exquisite taste adds to their enigma and worth as a collector’s item.

The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid, a barley farmer and school teacher. He and the subsequent generations of Macallan brought together the perfect blend of natural raw materials, fine-tuned the methods of Scotch production and honed the craftsmanship required to produce Scotch of outstanding quality and distinctive character.

The gifted team at Macallan, nose thousands of samples every year to create The Macallan expressions recognized around the world. This challenging task, together with the ‘marrying’ of different casks for many of the expressions, is one of the crucial steps in creating this, one of the world’s truly great whiskies.

The Spanish Oak sherry casks from which the Macallan “M” was drawn, is typically imported from Spain, and this particular variety of oak, with its open grain and high tannin content, imparts the classic aromas of dried fruits, spices and Chocolate Orange. These maturations casks are integral to the process of making great Scotch, often said to be the greatest contributor to the outstanding quality, natural colors and distinctive flavors, native to the Macallan brand.

The taste of the Macallan “M” is believed to be rich in a raisin-y flavor, with the body filled out by cherries and fruity overtones. The subtle tastes of lemon, cedar, apple, violet and leather sit on the palate and lead finally into the tobacco-flavored finish.