The Macallan, McCartney sisters tease sustainable partnership

September 13, 2023

A first-time creative union between Stella and Mary McCartney reinvigorates the whiskey maker's popular Amber Meadow line, highlighting the pair’s ancestral connection to Scottish lands. Image credit: The Macallan

By Amirah Keaton

Scottish whiskey maker The Macallan is lending viewers a peek into a buzzworthy project.

A first-time creative union between British fashion designer Stella McCartney and her sister, photographer and documentary filmmaker Mary McCartney, appears to highlight the pair’s ancestral connection to Scottish lands. Placing the whiskey maker’s Harmony Collection central to the activation, The Macallan is floating video content featuring the forces, in honor of a shared esteem for the natural world upon which both partners rely.

Lands beyond
In an exciting and unexpected collaboration, The Macallan has joined together with the talented McCartney sisters on a luxury pursuit with lineal ties.

The execution, a debut joint venture between both family members, “combines their creative talents in a collaboration which enables them to celebrate their profound memories of Scotland,” according to the company.

Crafted without compromise, the blend plays a background role in a new branded video.

Titled “Amber Meadow,” the duo's contribution marks the third Harmony Collection drop

The women are shown traversing through fields of green as a voice-over from the youngest of the two sets up the film’s first few seconds.

“All of us are looking for inspiration,” Stella says.

The sisters’ background and affinity for the region where The Macallan is based is apparent, carrying the potential for an unmatched level of synergy in working with the whiskey master.

“We spent lots of time together in Scotland growing up,” Ms. McCartney continues.

“It’s where we formed such a strong bond.”

Stella and Mary McCartney attend to their respective crafts in The Macallan's latest digital release. Image credit: The Macallan

As the digital expression presses on, its subjects are shown actively indulging in their respective crafts.

Side-by-side, the designer sketches while the camerawoman captures the views available from the ledge she and her sibling stand on before the scene shifts, and audiences are fully immersed in the surroundings as the audio switches to the elder sister, who speaks to the treetops and crystal-clear freshwater sources on display.

A reverence for the environment quickly becomes clear.

“The memories it left us with were of freedom, nature and beautiful simplicity,” she says, before Stella joins in, both voices bringing the video to a close.

“Traveling to The Macallan stirred those memories, and filled us with the inspiration to create something new around something that has been here for generations.”

Authenticity by association

The Macallan's inclusion of the McCartneys in its celebration of a centuries-old journey strikes as a smart choice.

Sustainability is a central theme of their work (see story), and the distiller’s operations are rooted in principles that its co-creators are known to uphold.

The update slots in under the manufacturer's Harmony Collection.

The Harmony Collection Rich Cacao. Image courtesy of The Macallan

The limited annual release series taps natural materials that have not yet reached the end of their life cycle, encasing the creations in sustainably made packaging.

Its first iteration explored chocolates, collaborating with Spanish pastry chef Jordi Roca to create single malts with notes of cocoa, while a second edition saw The Macallan Whisky Maker Steven Bremner calling on five coffee experts in the delivery of a new fusion product and an innovative coffee and whiskey pairing experience (see story).

Titled “Amber Meadow,” the McCartney duo's contribution now counts as Harmony Collection's third drop. Their dedication to the environment aligns seamlessly with The Macallan's own efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and support responsible sourcing, thus granting the product line at the center of the release authenticity by association.

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The Macallan, McCartney sisters tease sustainable partnership

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