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Driving onto the estate of the Macallan distillery
you are greeted with large signs in the field (where barley is growing)
that the Macallan still uses the Golden Promise barley type. And this
sense of proud people will be very much present on the rest of the tour.
The distillery opened a new visitor center not too long ago. In the modern
looking building we find a shop, and the much debated on 'vintage' Macallan's,
which remain on display here despite their much debated (Italian?) origin.
The shop has the usual products on sale: the nectar itself, branded clothing
and fare where Macallan is used in the production.
 The
visitor center is also the starting point of the tour. The distillery
is not one of the most beautiful ones. It is more that of a small town
with scattered industry type buildings for the distillery, and houses
where the distillery workers live in. Just outside this 'town' we find
Easter Elchies, the famous house we find back on all Macallan labels in
the Jacobean tower house style. To us the modern style wing build off
from it looked very out of place. That is something we noticed the Scots
have a weird talent for, take something old, original or idyllic, and
slap on something modern to kill the original feel of it. Have to find
out why they do that sometime...
The tour is a very solid one. There are some nice eye candies to see in
the distillery, such as the stills which are still being heated by direct
firing, and the tour also included a visit to the warehouse.
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