How Macallan Became a Luxury Icon with Ken Grier

Send us Fan Mail How did a quirky Speyside malt, used mostly for blending, become the benchmark for luxury whisky? Ken Grier, creative director of The Macallan from 1998 to 2018, tells the story from the inside. In the Season 2 opener, Rickesh Kishnani (The Whisky Chief) and Ken taste four whiskies: a Glen Fraser 21 Year Old independent bottling of Macallan, a 40 Year Old Edrington blend distilled in 1976, a Macallan-inspired sherried single malt made by David Robertson and Andy Simpson, and a 1996 Springbank single cask from a sherry butt. Along the way: building the collector's market with Fine and Rare, 10,000 Polaroids with Rankin, the £140 million distillery, the Skyfall story, the one release Ken wishes he had never allowed out, and his five rules for building a whisky brand today. 00:00 Ken Grier and the Macallan story 04:08 Tasting a 21-year-old Macallan 10:00 How Macallan became “the world’s most precious whisky” 16:46 Three creative decisions that changed Macallan 23:00 Building the iconic Macallan distillery 26:02 Tasting a Macallan-style whisky 30:00 How Macallan won collectors and superfans 33:53 The Bond story and Macallan’s global impact 40:00 Storytelling, luxury, and “a life beyond ordinary” 44:00 Tasting a Macallan-inspired whisky 51:48 Five principles for building a whisky brand today 58:02 Tasting a 30-year-old Springbank 1:04:47 Ken’s biggest regret at Macallan 1:06:21 The lesson founders should steal from Macallan 1:08:21 Closing thoughts 🔔 Subscribe for a new episode every Thursday at 6PM HKT 📩 Join the newsletter: https://whiskyunfinished.com 💬 Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gsm7ZW8fm2XEZ3yaVVgg7Q 🎙️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01IYF1Q39l2dTrWGTOpcen?si=c50adf256c7d484e 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whisky-unfinished/id1884496168 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskyunfinished 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickesh/ New episodes every Thursday at 6:00 PM HKT. Please enjoy whisky responsibly.