The Macklowe is an American brand of

single malt whiskey Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery. Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulations, a "Si ...

created by entrepreneur

Julie Macklowe Julie Macklowe (born Julie Lerner December 1977) is an American beauty entrepreneur and businesswoman. Formerly in finance, she is the founder and spokesperson of vbeauté, a luxury skincare line offering Swiss botanical skincare products for wom ...

. The whiskey is distilled in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and aged seven years. A limited run of 237 was produced from its first cask.

Origins and Philosophy

During her early career, while traveling for her finance career, she made trips to

Speyside Speyside can refer to: * Speyside, Ontario, a settlement in Ontario * Strathspey, Scotland, the famous whisky producing region by the River Spey ** Speyside single malts, the type of whisky produced in Strathspey * Speyside, Trinidad and Tobago ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

, searching out

bottle shops A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

and duty-free stands. She has since expanded her collection of whiskeys to over 1,000 bottles. As whiskey values began to explode in the mid 2010s, Macklowe zeroed in on an opportunity to create what she considers a unicorn: a luxury single malt made in America.

Production

Macklowe teamed up with renowned Scottish distiller and blender Ian MacMillan, known for his work with

Bunnahabhain Bunnahabhain ( ; from Scottish Gaelic (, ), meaning 'foot of the river')According to Edward Dwelly's ''Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary'', 9th ed., 1977, page 141, the word 'bun' also means 'mouth (of a river)' is a village on the northe ...

and

Bladnoch Bladnoch may refer to: * Bladnoch, Wigtownshire * Bladnoch Distillery, and ''Bladnoch'' whisky * River Bladnoch The Bladnoch is a river in Wigtownshire in the Machars of Galloway in southwest Scotland. One of the earliest descriptions of it i ...

. The Macklowe is produced in Kentucky the way

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

is traditionally made, using a

column still A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills can produce rectified spirit (95% ABV). Description The first column (called the analyzer) in a column s ...

and copper doubler. She chose to produce a single malt because of the versatility of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, the base grain, and the wide range of flavors it can elicit. The brand follows a

farm-to-table Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork, and in some cases farm-to-school) is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (which might be a winery, brewer ...

philosophy, which includes a locally sourced malted barley. The first releases were made in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

to Macklowe's specifications and aged further in Kentucky, where the initial runs of her core product are made, matured, and bottled. Casks spend anywhere from 5–8 years in new American white oak

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

before being hand selected by MacMillan. The product is then bottled in hand-crafted, hand painted bottles that are designed after flasks.Julie Macklowe Launches Luxury American Single Malt Whiskey; WWD

Tasting Notes

With notes of

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

and

hazelnuts The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

on the nose, The Macklowe’s Cask No. 61 is a silky, full-bodied affair marked by flavors of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

, and lingering spice. The latest release of The Macklowe, Cask No. 60, has been observed to taste like

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

, and

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

, with a pronounced oakiness; the nose is strong, the finish smooth, and the seven-year-old liquid registers as spicy and warm.

Reception

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

called The Macklowe “the new whiskey that is taking over

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

.” The Macklowe has consistently sold out each limited release of its Casks of Distinction within minutes of becoming available. Chef

Daniel Boulud Daniel Boulud (born 25 March 1955 in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, the Berkshires and Dubai. He is best known for h ...

praises its “balance and purity.”

Jean-Georges Jean-Georges is a two-Michelin-star restaurant at 1 Central Park West (between West 60th Street and West 61st Street), on the lobby level of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, named after ...

’ restaurants,

Eleven Madison Park __NOTOC__ Eleven Madison Park is a New American fine dining restaurant located inside the Metropolitan Life North Building at 11 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. It has retained 3 Michelin stars since 2012 ...

and

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

, the Polo Bar, and institutions like

Marea MAREA is a 6,600 km (4,000 mile) long transatlantic communications cable connecting the United States with Spain. Owned and funded by Microsoft and Meta Platforms, but constructed and operated by Telxius, a subsidiary of the Spanish telecom c ...

, Catch Steak, Carbone, Le Pavillon, Le Bilboquet, Nick & Sam's Steakhouse,

Casa Cipriani Casa Cipriani is a hotel and private membership club that opened in August 2021 in the Battery Maritime Building, a ferry terminal, in lower Manhattan, New York City. While initial work rehabilitating the structure was completed by other entities, ...

, Casa Lever, Lola Taverna, Bemelmans at the Carlyle, the Grill, the Lobster Club and Tutto il Giorno serve it.

References

External links

* Distilleries in Kentucky American brands {{whisky-stub