Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Year Scotch

The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Travel Retail Exclusive, 84 Proof

Price

$1,699.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 18 Years | Region: Speyside, Highlands, Scotland | Proof: 86 Proof

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Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

20yr

Age Statement

42%

ABV

Proof

700mL

Format

Cask Stages

2026

Changi Debut

The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky that began its maturation in oak casks seasoned with sherry in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and then went on maturing in American casks that had held bourbon. The Macallan bottles it at 42% ABV with natural colour as a travel exclusive, first sold at Singapore Changi Airport on 28 September 2026.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Sherry oak first, bourbon casks second. The Macallan matured the 20 Years Old in sherry-seasoned oak casks from Jerez de la Frontera before moving it into American casks that once held bourbon, and the front label calls the mix an anomalous selection. Diane Stuart, a whisky maker at The Macallan, said at the launch that most producers work the other way round, bourbon cask first and sherry cask second.

Twenty years, 42% ABV. The front label states 20 Years Old and alc. 42% vol, 84 proof on the US scale, and the triangle on the shoulder repeats the age.

Natural colour. NATURAL COLOUR is printed on the label beside PRODUCT OF SCOTLAND, and The Macallan lists natural colour as one of its Six Pillars.

Made for airport shops. The Macallan lists the 20 Years Old as a travel exclusive. Lotte Duty Free’s shops at Singapore Changi Airport sold it alone from 28 September to 18 October 2026, and The Macallan’s airport boutiques, London Heathrow Terminal 5 among them, took it from 19 October.

Amy Genser’s artwork. The American artist Amy Genser, who builds textured pieces out of paper, made the pack artwork for the Carta Nautica Collection; the design for this bottle draws on water in motion and natural shapes.

Highland on the label, Speyside at home. The label reads 700ml and HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY, while The Macallan places its Estate in Speyside; the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 protect both names as whisky regions.

Nº 02

Carta Nautica

A chart for The Macallan’s oak

Carta Nautica is Spanish for nautical chart, and The Macallan gives the name to a collection drawn from the Atlantic crossings of its oak. Casks that once held bourbon leave the United States for Scotland; American oak also sails to Jerez de la Frontera, where The Macallan’s casks of American and European oak are seasoned with sherry; and the route ends in Scotland, where the whisky ages in casks that have made the crossing. The collection page lists four single malts. The Distilled in 1987 was bottled in 2026 at 38 years old and 45.2% ABV; this 20 Years Old is the travel-retail bottling; the 105 Proof, a US release at 52.5% ABV, carries no age statement; and The Macallan Carta Nautica is sold in Latin America through selected retailers. The Macallan’s Whisky Mastery Team made the collection, and its lead whisky maker, Euan Kennedy, presented it at the launch as casks from different continents and climates brought together in one whisky.

Nº 03

The Two Cask Stages

Sherry oak, then bourbon casks

Stage one · Jerez de la Frontera

Sherry-seasoned oak

Oak casks seasoned with sherry in Jerez held the whisky first. The Macallan’s tasting note credits sherry-seasoned European oak with the apricot conserve on the nose.

Stage two · America

Casks that held bourbon

Casks from America that had held bourbon took over for the rest of the maturation; the same note traces the creamy vanilla to them.

Bottling

20 years · 42% ABV

Bottled at natural colour in 700 mL, as the front label reads.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

The Macallan’s tasting note for the 20 Years Old opens with creamy vanilla from the bourbon casks and orange peel, then charred pineapple, juicy mango and apricot conserve, the last from sherry-seasoned European oak. The palate it describes moves from sweetness into peach tea and caramelised figs and on to leather and chocolate orange, and the finish sets toasted orange spice against dried tropical fruit.

Strategic Position

Two other Macallans on our shelves sit close to it. It shares its age and its year with the twenty-year TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask of 2026, which keeps to sherry-seasoned oak throughout and is bottled at 44.8%. Guardian Oak, a 44.2% Harmony bottling for travel retail shares its channel, with no age statement and only sherry casks behind it. Of the three, Carta Nautica 20 alone moves its whisky from sherry oak into casks that held bourbon, and at 42% it is the lowest in strength.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

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Changi first

Lotte Duty Free at Singapore Changi Airport held the release alone for its first three weeks, and a counter there could dress the bottle in a blue Merlion cap, a personalisation offered at Changi and nowhere else.

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The box

The bottle stands at the centre of a box whose two side panels open outward, all three lined with Amy Genser’s artwork in turquoise and blue threaded with white and red.

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Who made it

The Macallan’s Whisky Mastery Team, which master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell leads, made the Carta Nautica Collection; lead whisky maker Euan Kennedy and whisky maker Diane Stuart spoke for it at the launch.

Collector IndexCARTA NAUTICA · 20

Distillery: The Macallan, Speyside
Age: 20 Years Old
Strength: 42% ABV · 84 proof
Casks: Sherry-seasoned oak, then ex-bourbon
Channel: Global travel retail
Format: 700 mL

Carta Nautica 20 Years Old sits with The Macallan’s Sherry Oak 25, Double Cask 30 and TIME : SPACE bottlings among our Highland, Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown single malts.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whisky	The Macallan Carta Nautica, 20 Years Old
Collection	The Macallan Carta Nautica Collection
Class	Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age statement	20 Years Old
ABV	42%
Proof	84
Cask / Barrel	Sherry seasoned oak casks from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, then casks from America that once held bourbon
Colour	Natural colour
Producer	The Macallan Distillers Ltd, The Macallan Estate
Region	Speyside (The Macallan Estate); the label’s class line reads Highland
Format	700 mL
Release	Lotte Duty Free, Singapore Changi Airport, from 28 September 2026; The Macallan airport boutiques from 19 October 2026
Channel	Global travel retail exclusive
Pack artwork	Amy Genser

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Under the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 a single malt is distilled at one distillery, from water and malted barley without other cereals, in pot stills, and an age on a Scotch label is that of the youngest whisky in the bottle. US labels state strength as proof, defined in 27 CFR 5.1 as twice the alcohol by volume, so the 42% on this bottle reads as 84 proof.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What casks is The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old matured in?

The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old was matured first in oak casks seasoned with sherry in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and then in casks from America that had previously held bourbon. The Macallan’s front label calls this an anomalous selection of sherry-seasoned oak casks and casks that previously held bourbon. The Macallan whisky maker Diane Stuart noted at the launch that the usual practice runs the other way, from bourbon casks into sherry casks.

Is The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old a travel retail exclusive?

Yes. The Macallan lists Carta Nautica 20 Years Old as a travel exclusive: it went on sale on 28 September 2026 at Lotte Duty Free’s shops in Singapore Changi Airport, which sold it alone until 18 October 2026. From 19 October 2026 it reached The Macallan’s airport boutiques, including London Heathrow Terminal 5.

How is Carta Nautica 20 Years Old different from Carta Nautica 105 Proof?

The Macallan Carta Nautica 20 Years Old carries a 20-year age statement and is bottled at 42% ABV, or 84 proof, for global travel retail. The Macallan Carta Nautica 105 Proof has no age statement, is bottled at 52.5% ABV and was released for the United States. Both belong to The Macallan’s Carta Nautica Collection.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault The Macallan · Carta Nautica 20 Years Old

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The Macallan Carta Nautica

The Elemental Distinction

Carta Nautica