Macallan James Bond – Decade Release.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise, the Macallan distillery has released six special bottlings to celebrate each decade of the 007 legacy and in particular his Scottish heritage.

The James Bond film franchise traces it’s roots back to the early 1960’s, when Eon Productions acquired the rights to make adaptations of Ian Flemings James Bond novels. The Decade I is thus a celebration of these early iconic movies. Sean Connery was the first of many to play Bond in 1962’s ‘Dr No’ and appeared in another five films over the next decade, apart from a brief retirement from the role when George Lazenby took over in 1969’s ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. The packaging design of this bottle incorporates archival production sketches from the Connery films ‘Goldfinger’ (1964), ‘Thunderball’ (1965), and ‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967).

Following Sean Connery’s retirement from the Bond role after ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, Roger Moore rose to the occasion and succeeded him in 1973’s ‘Live and Let Die’. This Decade II release is centred around Roger Moore’s rendition of Bond beginning in the 1970’s, a role he retained for over a decade. The packaging design contains archival production storyboards and sketches from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977) and ‘Moonraker’ (1979).

The 1980’s marked a decade of assorted portrayals of Bond. While Roger Moore continued to blossom in the role until his retirement following 1985’s ‘A View To A Kill’, Timothy Dalton brought a new depth to the character during his debut in 1987’s ‘The Living Daylights’ that some would argue was more authentic to his portrayal in the Ian Fleming novels. This Decade III release features archival production concept art, sketches and storyboard sequences from Moore’s ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981) and ‘Octopussy’ (1983).

Following a several-year hiatus of Bond films, 1995’s ‘Goldeneye’ brought with it a new face to mark the new decade through Pierce Brosnan. During this time the production of the films became more complex and detailed while still remaining fresh, reflecting the rapidly changing world around them. This Decade IV release from the Macallan features packaging design elements containing archival production storyboards and concept art from ‘Goldeneye’ (1995) and ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997).

The new millennium marked an upcoming change for James Bond, and that change was soon realised through Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the character debuting in 2006’s ‘Casino Royale’. This Decade V release is a celebration of Craig’s early work portraying the character and incorporates packaging design elements featuring production sketches from ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) and ‘Quantum Of Solace’ (2008).

2012’s ‘Skyfall’ was an important landmark film for the James Bond franchise, as it emphasised Bond’s Scottish childhood home Skyfall Lodge. During this decade Daniel Craig continued to bring new never seen before vulnerability and relatability to the role. This Decade VI release from the Macallan has packaging design containing art of Skyfall Lodge from ‘Skyfall’ (2012) and a Day of the Dead poster from ‘Spectre’ (2015).