Originally published in Scotland’s Enchanting Kingdom
For some people, whisky is only a drink, a way to form a quick connection during a business meeting, enhance conversation in a tricky social situation or bond with close friends at a dinner party.
For Elliott Broidy, a Florida-based serial entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist, whisky is a passion, a purpose pursuit, a means of adventure and a lens through which he explores the world.
In other words, Broidy is a true whiskey connoisseur. He’s particularly fond of the brand, the Macallan, a single-malt Scotch distilled in Scotland and one of the highest-selling of its kind.
“It’s such a consistently fantastic product,” Broidy said in a recent interview. “It’s a brand of whisky that I’ve been enamored with for many years.”
At one point in his life, Broidy was one of the largest buyers of Macallan in the United States outside of hotels, restaurants, and retailers. This was because of the many charitable and political events he was involved with hosting at that time, and it was important to him that his guests be treated to the best.
And it’s his peerless loyalty to Macallan that took him on a once-in-a-lifetime trip this past May to Spain and Scotland, where he observed up-close how the signature magic behind the Macallan comes to life. His trip occurred from May 27-30.
Broidy, joined by three close acquaintances, traveled to Jerez, Spain, where they dropped by the Valdespino sherry-producing bodega, before visiting Inverness, Scotland, a city in the Scottish Highlands that’s home to the Easter Elchies House, the spiritual home of Macallan.
At Valdespino, Broidy learned firsthand about how sherry is a fortified wine produced in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Valdespino is one of Spain’s most historic sherry producers, and it provides Macallan with a means for cask aging. Whisky, as Broidy and the group soon discovered, is often aged in barrels that previously hold sherry. This allows the aromas and flavors of the sherry to be imparted to the whisky.
Macallan’s beloved sherry-seasoned oak collection consists of four single malts; meaning it’s made exclusively from malted barley, each boasting robust notes of succulent dried fruits and natural spices, according to Macallan master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, who joined Broidy’s group.
Additionally, at Valdespino, they were given a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Macallan’s recent foray into “vertical integration”; that is, the company’s purchase in 2023 of a 50-percent controlling stake in the historic maker of Valdespino sherry. The recent purchase ensures Macallan continues having an exclusive supply of the bodega’s sherry casks, according to the company’s Scotland-based managing director.
Broidy, the whiskey lover
The visit to Valdespino wasn’t all industry insight, though. While there, they had the chance to taste some of the Spanish bodega’s sherry, including a 100-year-old vintage; one Broidy admitted he didn’t exactly have high hopes for.
“I would call it sludge; but it was actually pretty good,” Broidy laughed.
Their next stop was Scotland. Overlooking the River Spey, Scotland’s Easter Elchies House is a traditional Highland manor, built in 1700. In the early-1800s, the first licensed whisky distillery was established on the historic site.
According to the Macallan website, legend has it that the name “Macallan” derives from the Gaelic word, “Magh,” meaning fertile piece of land, and “Ellan,” from the eighth-century Irish Monk St. Fillan of the former parish from an ancient church ruin that’s found nearby.
Easter Elchies House, the Scotland-based spiritual home of The Macallan
Their time in Scotland was jam-packed with high-end activities, from a six-course gastronomic dining experience at the Macallan Estate prepared by esteemed chef Mark Murphy, with each course paired with a dram (small drink) of a rare Macallan; to a lively round of 18 holes on the Spey Valley Golf Course.
A highlight was dinner at the iconic whiskey bar Mash Tun, a boutique hotel and restaurant centrally located in whisky country. Capping things off was casual chatter over cigars at Rothes Glen, a luxury, exclusive-use castle sleeping up to 28 guests that the group called home during their brief time in the Scottish Highlands.
Joining the group in Scotland was Macallan’s North American brand ambassador, Matt Wong, who gave Broidy and his friends a more personalized experience than they would’ve gotten if just visiting the site on their own.
For Broidy, the experience marked a culmination of a years-long fascination with whisky, one that began when his father gave him his first taste of the fermented spirit when he was just a teenager.
“It was a very small shot when I was 16,” Broidy said. “My father was a Macallan drinker, and he liked Scotch.”
As Broidy made his ascent in the business world, C-suites and all, he found that whisky always played a part in him forming good connections and closing deals.
He’s been a longtime collector of Macallan products, and he expressed excitement about Macallan’s forthcoming Tree of Life, a 46-year-old single malt that’s seasoned in a sherry oak cask from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and boasts notes of tropical fruits, complex wood spice and antique oak. He also looks forward to sampling Macallan’s limited edition Genesis, which marks a unique collaboration with acclaimed architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners.
By the end of their time in Spain and Scotland, Broidy walked away with a deeper understanding of the process, production and passion that has elevated Macallan whisky to the globally renowned brand that it is today. And he can’t wait, he said, to go back.
“We had such a wonderful time,” he said. “I didn’t expect I’d ever get to take a trip like this, and to be there, with close friends, was something I won’t soon forget. If nothing else, the trip was a reminder of the distinct pleasures of being a whisky lover, an identity I embrace proudly.”