30-year-old Macallan Dilemma
 

I'm looking to acquire (hopefully in the not-too-distant future) a 30-year-old Macallan, to add to a small collection of single malts. I'm interested in the fine oak or sherry oak, and I've found numerous merchants online offering them in the $750-$1,200 range. Problem is, I need to identify which of the two sherry oaks or the (one) fine oak is the most "limited" of the three (i.e., I don't want to overspend for one that is widely available). So far, I've found the fine oak with a white label (in a blue box), and two sherry oaks: one with a white label and blue box and the other with a fancy blue-and-gold label (large "30" in the design) in a blue box. (Only going by the pictures in the ads.) Of the three, the fine oak seems to be the pricey-est on average, but I can't be sure this exactly correlates to availability. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Thanks!

The Sherry Oak 30 is the more limited, yet it is priced (at the moment) at the same or near to the Fine Oak 30. Both are fantastic to say the least, obviously the Sherry oak is the more traditional one, matured exclusively, as the 12,18 & 25 are in Sherry Oak Casks. But both would be a worthy king of your cabinet!

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any difference between the white label and blue label sherry oaks?

30-year-old Macallan dilemma (part 2)
 

I contacted The Macallan people (a.k.a. The Edrington Group) about the question above and they wrote back that prior to the bottle redesign (and launching of the "Fine Oak" series) in 2005, the 30-y.o. "Sherry Oak" had blue labels (which I'm sure we've all seen advertised online)....problem is, there's a noticeable difference in the SHADE OF BLUE on the labels of these older (1999to 2004) bottles of Sherry Oak; one label has a light, powder-blue colored background, with gold lettering (also the neck label), the other has a much darker blue background, with somewhat bolder lettering. Both otherwise have identical size and style of lettering, so far as I can judge from the images - sadly, I have never seen one of these bottles in person!! (See images below.)

Does anyone know if there were actually two different versions of blue label used, and if so, which was the older of the two? -or were they bottled for sale in different regions? Also, anyone know if the 1999-2004 average annual production/distribution was more or less than 2005 to the present? :confused:

30-year-old Macallan dilemma (part 2)
 

I received the following info from Macallan/Edrington Group Ltd:

"The full range of bottles for Sherry Oak, from 1999 to date is below.

"30 year old.jpg" is the image from 1999 to 2004
"SO30 Bottle Pack CO RGB Hi.jpg" is the pack from 2004 - 2006
"so 30 co b&c.jpg" is 2006 pack to date"

(-Thanks to any who may have been following this thread!):D

Macallan 30 Years Old - Blue Label - Counterfeits
 

Newbie here. Recently purchased a Macallan 30 years old from someone on craigslist and I too was puzzled by the difference in some of the blue labels. Powder blue vs dark blue. Figured it out: camera flash make the label look powder blue. Mystery solved. I did have a sneaky suspicion though, that there was something wrong with my bottle, that it might be a counterfeit. I stumbled across one that was listed on eBay but had ended with no bids, for only $99.00, with no reserve. I contacted the seller to find out if they were going to re-list the item and they responded no, that the item was pulled because they discovered that their bottle was a fake, and that there is a flood of counterfeit "blue label" bottles up for sale worldwide. They also told me what to look for to verify authenticity. Mine is the real deal. I'm surprised that there is no bulletin being issued by Macallan.:mad:

Thanks for the enlightening (though problematic) information. Too bad about the fakes; I guess it's inevitable with such a high-priced and scarce whisky. What did your eBay seller mention about how to tell the genuine ones from counterfeits?

I just posted a new thread, Beware - Counterfeit Single Malts - it will answer your question and then some. BTW, it was the computer generated production code, and serial number on the back of the front label.
http://whisky.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12389

Interesting info, thanks. I recently purchased a bottle of the blue label from an online retailer (for nearly full price - I wanted to steer clear of anything on eBay/Craigslist or any other auction sites, for the reasons noted above). When I got the bottle I examined it carefully and some red flags popped up: namely the labels, on which the printing was fairly weak and the paper had kind of a ribbed look to it, but mostly the presence of an Italian tax seal on the cap; also, the fill level looked a bit too high in the neck. I'd read on the "Whisky Fakers" site (thanks for the link, Rollingthunder) about counterfeit Macallans and other single malts originating from the Italian market, so I had immediate doubts, to say the least! (-even though I couldn't be 100% certain it wasn't genuine).

I contacted the store and asked them to replace the bottle with one that didn't have a tax seal, figuring that would eliminate one source of uncertainty. Fortunately they agreed and sent a bottle that also had recognizable domestic (U.S.) wording as to alcohol content and volume on the front label, compared to the other one (which had European units), as well as the U.S. "Government Warning" on the back. Only thing is, the whisky itself is dark enough (a good thing?!!) so that I couldn't see through it to examine the back of the label for a serial number - got to use a flashlight, I guess!

All this of course points to the perils of buying sight-unseen. There's just no relying on images on store web sites, eBay, etc. compared to looking at and holding a physical bottle, and even then there aren't any guarantees. Obviously the first rule with high-end stuff is to avoid online auction sites if possible and deal only with reputable, established retailers.

Only way to buy them!

-Daniel

30-year-old Macallan Dilemma
 

Referencing Son-O'-the-Sod (?)'s comment of 6/6/10, Obviously the first rule with high-end stuff is to avoid online auction sites if possible and deal only with reputable, established retailers., I must respectfully disagree. Thomas Kruger of WHISKYAUCTION.COM not only owns and runs the most reputable whisky auction website, but Thomas is a man of integrity. He also runs a reputable established retail shop in Rendsburg, Germany. One must do their research before purchasing, not just avoid.

mr narayan
 

i have 2 bottles of macallan 30 year old blue lable sherry oak that i am prepare to sell. if interested please contact me at snarayanan@btinternet.com

i have the blue label 30 year for sale
 

30 year macallan 750 scotch-whiskey bottle. This one is atleast 42 years old. the blue label is very rare. already contacted macallan personally for authenticity. call or text for details...404 454 3619... never opened