[1][2] The Macallan is generally considered to be the second or third highest-selling single-malt scotch, next to Glenfiddich and, by some accounts, Glenlivet.

[3][4] Originally, the Macallan was matured only in oak sherry casks brought to the distillery from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

It was initially a farm distillery, and the Macallan name came from the Gaelic word "magh", meaning "fertile ground," and "allan", referring to the local stream.

[6] In 1892, the distillery was able to buy its first large copper pot still, which allowed it to increase production.

In 2010, a bottle of the Macallan 64-year-old single malt whisky in a one-of-a-kind "Lalique: Cire Perdue" crystal decanter was sold for $460,000 at an auction at Sotheby's in New York City.

It was designed by architect Norman Foster and featured modern architecture alongside a deep integration into the history and craftsmanship of the distillery.

[16] In July 2019, the £140 million new distillery and visitor experience, on the Easter Elchies estate near Craigellachie, made the shortlist for the Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture.

[25] In 2003, the Macallan started laboratory tests to determine if some antique whiskies purchased for their collection were forgeries, perhaps generated by a dealer with mafia ties.

The archaeologists found that people had been working in the area in the Middle Bronze Age (radiocarbon dates of 1681–1503 cal BC); had built a small settlement in the Late Bronze Age (radiocarbon dates of between 1050 and 800 BC); then a single ring-ditch roundhouse in the Middle Iron Age (radiocarbon dates of 171 BC - AD 51); another small settlement between the ninth to twelfth centuries AD with two post-ring roundhouses; and a 19th century quarry.