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.