House of McCallum Whisky
House of McCallum is a new collection of Scotch Whiskies crafted by Antony McCallum, Malt Master, Blender & creator of exceptional whiskies, 24 years of experience in the whisky industry in Scotland.
Clan McCallum is one of the oldest noble clans in Scotland from the West Coast of Scotland. Our ancestors can be traced back to some of the first Kings of Scotland. King Malcolm I, was the first King of Scotland to unite both tribes, the Picts and the Scots into one Kingdom in order to defend Scotland from the English Anglo-Saxon invasions.
House of McCallum is made up of two distinctive ranges: the Art of Whisky Collection & Auld Alliance Vintage Collection and the Art of Rum.
These are limited edition craft releases with selected casks for each new annual release. The full range is natural colour and chill-filtered.
Why the 43.5% or the 46.5% for the vintages. These are my chosen strengths for the best balance to release the flavours of the spirit in each of the selections with a few higher strengths for some selected casks. Why the .5: This is my signature and is based on numerology dating back to the origins of our family.
The Art of Whisky
The art and the creation of a whisky are two styles of art that I have decided to associate in one bottle. My love for Scottish art and local artists from all ages and styles, and who often love whisky, gave me the idea of using my whisky creations and associate each of them to a Scottish artist. Each bottle and packaging tells the story of the painting, the artist and the whisky. The work with the artists will continue through the marketing of the brand and aims to give each of them an international platform to advertise their art. Each piece of art also illustrates the character of the whisky within.
The whiskies have been carefully selected for their unique flavour and character, their special maturation and finishing, re-enforced by the imageries of the artists, which further express the identity of the different spirits.
House of McCallum Vintage: The Auld Alliance Vintage collection
A collection of rare casks selected for their exceptional character and finished for some in old wine casks from the Auld Alliance country and beyond. At the time, not only did Scotland export it’s whisky to France but it also imported wine casks for drinking, which were then used for storing the whisky.
A little bit of history: The Auld Alliance from the old Scots spelling “Ald Allyance” or in Scottish Gaelic “An Seann-Chaidreachas”, was an alliance sealed between the Kingdoms of France and Scotland. Even if the treaty of Edinburgh from 1560 was meant to cancel most of its features, the spirit of the treaty continued as Mary Queen of Scots refused to ratify the treaty and after that, non-written support remained in place. The historic ties that link Scotland to France, and the rest of Europe, have been in place since 1295 and will continue to mark the culture and future of this nation.
The House of McCallum Vintage collection represents casks from different regions, different styles, some unique casks and other from distilleries distilled the same day and from the same pot still. Each bottle from each cask is unique. Some are finished is selected craft wine casks from small wine producers and are handpicked by Antony.