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Look inside The Macallan House Hong Kong, a world-class experiential store for whisky fans
The Macallan unveils experiential flagship store in Hong Kong
- The Macallan House Hong Kong introduces an immersive retail concept that explores the brand’s Scottish estate and its whisky-making process
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An immersive experience can bring a story to life, allow us to connect with an idea and form an affinity with the storyteller. The Macallan aims to achieve this with its world-first flagship store, which officially opened in Hong Kong earlier this month.
The Macallan House Hong Kong, located at 1 Stanley Street, Central, introduces the Scottish distillery’s new retail concept offering an innovative shopping experience, which also marks the 200th anniversary of The Macallan.
“The creation of this immersive space was truly to bring our Macallan Estate in Speyside – to bring a piece of Scotland – to life to our consumers in Asia,” says Jaime Martin Chocano, managing director of Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and Korea for Edrington, which owns and distributes The Macallan.
“We put in some of the key elements of what makes The Macallan unique. When you come in, you see all the elements of oak, copper and Albariza stone from the south of Spain.”
Designed by award-winning architect Jamie Fobert, The Macallan House Hong Kong spans 6,000 square feet over three floors and takes visitors on a sensorial journey through The Macallan Estate in the Scottish countryside, highlighting the distillery’s connection to nature and the craftsmanship behind its collection of single-malt whiskies.
Inside the space, copper walls emulate the small copper stills that The Macallan uses in its distillation process, while oak flooring pays homage to the oak casks in which each whisky is matured.
Albariza stone is featured in the bar area to allude to the white soil of Jerez de la Frontera in Spain’s Andalusia region, which is home to the sherry wine that seasons The Macallan casks to help whiskies develop their characteristic colours and flavours.
Curved walls of wooden slats mirror the undulating design of the distillery’s roof as well as the rolling hills of the Scottish landscape, and infusions of wild, aromatic herbs in the air give visitors a sense of the rich ecosystem on The Macallan’s 485-acre estate.
The Macallan House Hong Kong’s immersive experience begins at the entrance with a multi-storey 3D mural featuring illustrations by Spanish artist Javi Aznarez that were originally created for The Heart of the Spirit, a book documenting the brand’s history.
The interior of the store is divided into five areas. They include a retail space called The Arboretum, which offers the largest collection of the brand’s whiskies outside The Macallan Estate, The Paragon, where visitors can explore a variety of whisky expressions, and The Trellis bar. The upper floor contains an exhibition space called The Horizon, which will showcase the works that artists have created in collaboration with The Macallan, along with a private lounge called The Solstice.
“When consumers come into the space, the first thing they will see is our retail shop, where they can buy most of the expressions of The Macallan,” Chocano says. “We’ve got our extensive collection of single malts, and beyond our full range we have all of our prestige expressions, such as our Fine and Rare Collection.”
He adds that visitors can try The Macallan’s different expressions by the dram – a small pour of whisky – or in a cocktail created by the head bartender.
When choosing the city in which The Macallan House concept would be unveiled during the brand’s 200th year, Hong Kong was seen as the natural choice. The Macallan has built a strong connection to Hong Kong through its relationships with local consumers and trade partners, and has also hosted some of its biggest launches in the city.
“Hong Kong was the first Asian city where The Macallan was introduced over 40 years ago,” Chocano says. “We see this region as one of the biggest opportunities to continue immersing our consumers – telling the story and educating them about what makes The Macallan unique.”
Check out the video to get an up-close look inside The Macallan House Hong Kong.
