Macallan 1965 Special Selection 17 Year Old / Rinaldi Import It may be hard to imagine today, but for much of the 20th century, Macallan was primarily a constituent malt in blends. It was not until the 1980s downturn in the market that the distillery decided to focus on its single malt brand. Fortuitously, this coincided with the crest of a wave of enthusiasm for the high quality releases that the distillery had licensed to Campbell, Hope & King and Gordon & MacPhail in the 1960s and 1970s. These remain some of the most collectible on the market. While global single malt sales volume is still lead by Speyside neighbours, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is easily the most sought after. So much so in fact, that they had to open a brand new distillery in 2018, a subterranean architectural masterpiece within the Easter Elchies estate, boasting 36 copper pot stills. Macallan vintage releases produced by Campbell, Hope & King tended to be aged around the 15 year old mark, but when Macallan took over the responsibility in 1980, they toyed for a few releases with more advanced age-statements before settling on the 18 year old as the optimum maturation. This 17 year old was distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1983. The classic 18 year old distillery bottling was launched the following year. Presented here with the plastic screw cap used between 1981 and 1984, and imported to the Italian market by Fratelli Rinaldi.