Inside Macallan’s ground-breaking distillery

It’s the most anticipated distillery opening of the decade, yet Macallan has kept remarkably quiet about its £140m architectural marvel – until now. Becky Paskin was one of the first in to take a look around. ‘It’s almost like a Bond villain’s lair,’ Macallan’s creative director Ken Grier says, laughing to himself. ‘It reminds me of the volcano out of You Only Live Twice.’ Ever since designs for the whisky brand’s uniquely disruptive subterranean distillery were revealed in 2012, the pop culture comparisons have flowed. So freely, in fact, that rumour has it that the top bods at Edrington, Macallan’s owner, have forbidden employees from even mentioning the Teletubbies.