Cover The Macallan House
The Macallan House
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The Macallan’s global creative director, Jaume Ferras, takes us on a tour of the space, its different design features and touch points that make for an immersive experience
When I meet Jaume Ferras, the global creative director of The Macallan, at The Macallan House in Raffles Singapore hotel one day before its official launch on September 13, there’s a sense of lightness and excitement within him. He tells me that he had been working on this massive project—the first in the world—with award-winning architect Jamie Fobert (who designed the historic building Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice, Italy) for two years and the result, he beams, “went beyond our expectations”.
It is impressive, I admit, as he tells me more about the 3,000 square feet experiential space designed with the different facets of whisky-making in mind. “It’s an expression of The Macallan’s nature culture,” he shares. The distillery is, after all, surrounded by nature and whisky comes from it given that its key ingredients are water, barley and yeast (also wood and time, according to Ferras). What they wanted to do with this reimagined boutique was bring this distillery experience to Singapore without “copying and pasting what we already have in Scotland”.
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Above The Arboterum
Above Copper and waved walls
The Arboterum
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That being said, Ferras came up with six design codes—copper walls, the colour red, Albariza stone, waved walls, oak flooring and collaboration pieces—that pay homage to The Macallan’s nearly 200-year history and spirits through different touch points across the space. Just like how whisky-making always begins with this humble grain, dried barley stalks, stones and The Macallan’s core range (12, 15 and 18 Year Old) welcome me at the entrance. My eyes immediately wander to the wavy green walls decorated with wooden slats reminiscent of the distillery’s roof design (inspired by Scotland’s bucolic hills). These are interspersed with striking copper walls—the same colour as the pot stills in the distillery—embossed with roots symbolising the River Spey (the main water source for the major distilleries in Speyside).
Hailing from Spain, Ferras proudly points out the curved off-white stone walls behind the bar and in the private room. These represent the soil studded with Albariza stones in the Spanish vineyards where The Macallan sources its sherry casks. “It takes us three years to make each cask and two years to season them with sherry wines,” he elaborates, which brings us to the special floor design in the private room. While it looks like a vinyl floor covering with a printed design, upon closer inspection, it is actually the wood barrels sliced into small pieces and assembled like a jigsaw puzzle on the floor and finished with resin. “We don’t want to show customers a cask, but to let them experience its craftsmanship,” says Ferras, who adds that it took the team two weeks to finish this feature alone.
Read more: The Macallan Experience Extends Its Stay at Raffles Hotel Singapore
The Trellis
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Collaborations are an important part of The Macallan’s story, having worked with renowned artists such as Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon and Valerio Adamin in designing labels and bottle designs. But for The Macallan House, Ferras tapped two local artists to design two statement pieces for the space. The first one, designed by Nathan Yong, is a sculptural table made with green onyx that holds bottles from The Macallan M Collection. Textile artist Tiffany Loy also wove a mural made of silk and wool, which showcases the varying amber hues of The Macallan whiskies. “We don’t correct the colour of our whiskies, so sometimes, you see a difference,” explains Ferras. However, the whisky makers aim to make it consistent to showcase their craftsmanship.
Ferras ends the tour by saying that his favourite bar is The Macallan House’s own bar—emblazoned with the The Macallan’s red logo—where customers can end the immersive experience by trying some of the whiskies and the cocktails on offer. Ferras states that Edrington (the drinks company which owns The Macallan) recently acquired the Valdespino winery in Spain, and its Dry Sherry Amontillado is now available at the bar. “We want the visitors to be able to try our whiskies after exploring the space,” he chuckles. And with two years of hard work culminating in the opening of The Macallan House in Singapore, Ferras is ready to celebrate with a dram (or two) of The Macallan 18 Years Old.
More details about The Macallan House along with its guided tours and offerings are available here. Crafted without compromise. Please savour The Macallan responsibly.
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
