A subsidiary of The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits has long been known for its whisky. But the spirit specialist recently unveiled its first-ever Exploration Rum, as well as a new-look Scotch, the Lum Reek Blended Malt. Pushing the boundaries of convention, and with industry stalwart Billy Walker at the helm, the company is intent on creating a growing range of exceptional small-batch spirits.
Rebranded as MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits
Independently owned and managed whisky firm, The GlenAllachie Distillers Company is unveiling its first-ever rum. As the MacNair’s brand repositions to become the Boutique House of Spirits, it’s coinciding with the launch of Lum Reek Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, and a brand new small-batch line, Exploration Rum.
Originally founded in the 19th century by Harvey MacNair, the brand has been in Master Blender Billy Walker’s capable hands for over half a century now. His participatory approach and meticulous attention to detail have earned the company many accolades. Invested in enhanced maturation, with the belief that age and integrity matter, all of MacNair’s creations carry an age statement, are bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV, have natural colour and are non-chill-filtered for enhanced flavour.
Lum Reek
The finest vintage Speyside and Islay single malts are blended with aged GlenAllachie in Lum Reek, achieving a balance of gentle peat, honey and rich, fruity character. Undergoing a secondary maturation period, the copper-bronze 12-year-old expression is then laid to rest for over 12 extra months in premium American oak barrels, sherry casks, and French oak barriques.
The 21-year-old rich butterscotch expression experiences secondary ageing in Spanish sherry, French and virgin oak casks. This extended maturation period allows the flavours (old leather, cedarwood, cocoa, vanilla pods, and sweet spices) to mingle, mining further depth from the wood.
The Lum Reek whisky sub-range features the 21-year-old (winner of the World’s Best Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2020 and Best Blended Malt Scotch at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2021), and the 12-year-old (winner of the Double Gold at San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2021).
Exploration Rum
Sourced from sugar cane grown in the volcanic soil of Panama, Exploration Rum features a sunset gold 7-year-old peated, a burnished bronze 7-year-old with a fiery ginger kick, and a nutty golden bronze 15-year-old bottling.
First, the liquor is matured in the Panamanian tropics, before being transferred to the considerably cooler GlenAllachie Distillery in Speyside. The 7-year-old peated rum is matured for a second time in the GlenAllachie’s own heavily peated whisky casks, providing flavours of exotic fruit, burnt sugar, mocha, zest and a nose of cigar smoke. Meanwhile, the 7-year-old and 15-year-old are filled into red wine, virgin oak and ex-Bourbon casks for over 2 years.
And with just 400 cases per expression, superlative blending and world-class maturation, this new rum is in demand.
Contemporary, eye-catching and distinctive
Walker says of his new venture:
“I’ve long held a desire to explore and apply my expertise to a new spirit category, curious as to what the outcome could be. Rum was an exciting prospect as, in a similar vein to whisky, it allows for a greater scope of innovation and experimentation, particularly in regard to maturation.
I’ve spent a great deal of time sampling and tracking down what I deem to be the finest rums from across the world to bring to my lab at The GlenAllachie Distillery and put my own distinctive twist on. The result in this first batch of Panama experiences is what I believe to be a trio of really exciting and unique rums which explore the influence of wood, but also the impact of maturation in a cooler climate.
I’m also delighted to see the Lum Reek blended malts be presented in a more contemporary and eye-catching pack with an intricate hand-drawn illustration, reflecting the quality of the award-winning spirit within. Blended Malts are widely underrated within the whisky world; however, I truly believe MacNair’s Lum Reek can sit proudly alongside even the best single malts.”
Lum Reek and Exploration Rum are both available to purchase via international specialist retailers. And do look out for further releases from MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits, expected in the coming years.
Further information on MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits can be found at macnairs.com
