Edrington has concluded its project to attain greater control of the supply of casks for scotch whisky flagship The Macallan, buying into a newly-created joint venture in Spain.
The privately-owned group has spent an unspecified sum on a 50% holding in Tevasa Forestal Group. Comprising the Tevasa cooperage in Jerez along with sibling sawmill operators Forestal Peninsular (in Lugo) and Forestal Peninsular de Cantabria (Cabezón de la Sal) in the north of the country, the combined assets will be jointly-controlled by current owner Forestal Peninsular.
The latest transaction is the fourth in Edrington’s cask programme, which commenced in March last year with the acquisition of half of Grupo Estévez, also in Spain.
“The Macallan has always gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that our single malt scotch whisky is matured in the finest quality sherry-seasoned oak casks,” said The Macallan MD Igor Boyadjian. “The joint venture will complete a series of investments that will give us an unparalleled level of ownership in the production process of sherry-seasoned casks.”
Speaking to Global Drinks Intel, a company spokesperson flagged that The Macallan uses both American and European oak casks for its maturation, “although both are sherry seasoned”.
“This deal is about the European oak casks, while the Vasyma purchase last year, which included a sawmill in Ohio, was about the casks made from American oak. The first deal, for Grupo Estévez, was about securing high-quality sherry with which to season them.”
Earlier this week, The Macallan, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, unveiled a dual-expression vessel containing its oldest single malt to-date as well as the first iteration from its ‘new’ distillery that opened in 2018.
