The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old launches at Changi Airport with limited-time pop-up stores
CONTENT: Yiew Kai Jie
IMAGE: The Macallan
The Macallan has partnered with LOTTE Duty Free to launch The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old at Singapore Changi Airport, marking the whisky’s global debut ahead of a wider rollout from 19 October. Available exclusively at Changi until 18 October, the release unfolds across two dedicated pop-ups that start at Terminal 3 through 22 November, before moving to Terminal 2 until January 2027. The immersive space draws on an oceanic theme inspired by American artist Amy Genser’s water-influenced artwork, complete with underwater-style flooring, a Nautyria-themed wall tracing five symbolic “Guardians” of The Macallan’s cask journey, an interactive table letting travellers trace the whisky’s oak from North America to Jerez and Scotland, and a gifting station offering a Changi-exclusive blue Merlion cap for personalising bottles.
At the centre of the launch, the Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old (US$800) expression is built on a transatlantic maturation story. The whisky was matured first in sherry-seasoned oak from Jerez de la Frontera before finishing in casks that previously held American bourbon. Bottled at 42% ABV, the tasting profile opens with vibrant orange peel, creamy vanilla, charred pineapple, and juicy mango, moving into a palate of peach tea, caramelised figs, and zesty grapefruit against creamy chocolate orange, before finishing off with dried tropical fruit, caramel, and toasted oak spice.
Alongside it sits The Macallan Carta Nautica Distilled in 1987 (US$13,500), marking the first release in a new vintage series and the collection’s rarest expression, matured for 38 years, bottled at 45.2% ABV and presented in a sculpted wooden case carrying the same artwork from Amy Genser. Its profile trades the younger release’s tropical brightness for depth, with caramelised peach, tropical pineapple, and rose on the nose giving way to antique oak, orange oil, berry compote, and a citrus-leather twist, finishing on wood spice and luscious sultana.
Two further expressions round out the wider Carta Nautica collection for other markets: The Macallan Carta Nautica for Latin America and Mexico leans into dessert-like sweetness, tres leches cake, almond brittle, and lemon meringue — while The Macallan Carta Nautica 105 Proof, bottled at a robust 52.5% ABV for the US market, brings nougat, honeycomb, and candied orange into a richer, higher-strength expression of the same house style.
For more information, please visit The Macallan’s website.
