The Macallan Aurora is a litre-sized single malt from the Quest Collection, the distillery's range for airport and travel retail. It was launched in 2019 for Taiwan's duty-free shops and named after the dawn, with a lighter, spice-and-citrus take on Macallan's sherried style.
About This Whisky
Aurora sits alongside the core Quest line as a Taiwan duty-free release. Four cask types go into it: sherry-seasoned European oak and American oak casks, sherry-seasoned hogsheads, and American oak casks that once held bourbon. The bourbon wood keeps it brighter and more honeyed than a Sherry Oak Macallan, while the sherry casks bring dried fruit and spice. It is bottled at 40% ABV in the 1L size used in travel retail, and a Year of the Ox edition followed in 2021.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dried fruits opening into cinnamon and ginger, honeycomb sweetness, fresh citrus and polished oak.
- Palate: Lightly spiced, with cardamom and sweet oak over a soft, easy body.
- Finish: Sweet and of medium length, with dried fruit and citrus.
Serving & Food
Easy to drink neat at room temperature, and it also handles a large ice cube or a highball with chilled soda and an orange twist. Good alongside char siu, honey-glazed chicken wings or a plate of dried apricots and cashews.
How to Enjoy
An easy-going gift for a traveller, or a house bottle for guests who like a lighter Macallan.
Product Details
Producer: The Macallan
Expression: Aurora (The Macallan Quest Collection)
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Category: Single malt Scotch whisky
Cask: Sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks and hogsheads, American oak ex-bourbon casks
Release: Taiwan duty-free release, launched 2019
ABV: 40%
Volume: 1L / 1000mL
About the Distillery
The Quest Collection was The Macallan's answer to a simple question: how much of a whisky's character comes from where its oak grew and who coopered it. The range replaced the earlier 1824 Collection in travel retail and runs in four steps, from the fresh Quest through Lumina and Terra to the richer Enigma. Each one draws on a different mix of cask types, sourced from forests and cooperages in Spain and North America. The illustrated packs, by artist Mads Berg, follow the same theme of a long search for wood.