Aria's Lobby Bar in Las Vegas is Now a Macallan Tasting Lounge
October 28, 2024 –––––– Larry Olmsted
The Macallan recently celebrated its 200th birthday with the launch of an elaborate new release, Time : Space. Its arrival was announced on a high-resolution video screen that covers the entire surface of the Las Vegas Sphere, the globe-shaped arena that opened last year and is the largest spherical structure on the planet. If you want to taste this treasure without buying a bottle, you can cross Las Vegas Boulevard, aka The Vegas Strip, to Aria Resort & Casino.
In early October, Aria renovated and relaunched its Lobby Bar as a Macallan tasting lounge. The new bicentennial Time : Space release is a crafted, ring-shaped, decanter within a bottle that includes two separate whiskies—the youngest and oldest Macallan releases at 5 and 84 years. Only 200 bottles were released worldwide, at estimates upwards of $150,000. Aria claims to be the only outlet in the nation where you can order a glass of the 1940 vintage whisky. However, while everything else has a set price, drinking 84 years of Macallan history will cost you whatever supply and demand dictate at the time of your visit—the so-called “market price.”
The Macallan’s history is now what the new Lobby Bar is all about, and it has been completely redesigned with a museum layout, where you walk past floor-to-ceiling glass display cases holding rare releases, before reaching the bar itself. This three-dimensional immersive environment is heavily red, from the carpeting to display cases to the trim on the white or black couches to the new menu, two-thirds of which is devoted to Macallan whiskies and cocktails. There’s also a “regular” part of the menu with non-whisky drinks, and you can even get a Bud Light, but all things Macallan are the star of the show.
The other half of the new collection is Time : Space Mastery, a non-age statement recipe selected from the extensive aging stocks at the distillery, and more attainable at around $1,500 a bottle. In Aria it starts at $75, and all the rarer whiskies are offered in .75, 1.5, and 2-ounce pours, while the more “basic” options are 1.5 ounces (Mastery is $75, $150, and $200 respectively).
In addition to the new anniversary highlights, the Lobby Bar has much more for Mcallan fans. There’s the core Sherry Cask Range (12, 18, 25 and 30 year olds, $30-$700), Double Cask Range (12, 15, 8 and 30 year olds, $30-$700), Limited Range (Harmony Collection Intense Arabica, Reflexion, Rare Cask 2024 in three sizes starting at $23, $83, and $43), M Collection (Decanter, Black and Copper, from $375, $450, and $375) and the very rare Red Collection (40, 50, 77, and 78, from $675, $2,250, $3,750, and $3,675). In the first week after opening, no one had splurged for Time : Space, but there had been one pour of a 2-ounce Red 50 year old for a cool $6,000.
The Macallan tasting lounge also offers flights of three one-ounce samples, including Classic Range (12, 18, and 25 year olds for $415), M (Decanter, Black, and Copper, priced at $1,600), and Limited Releases, which may be the best buy in the entire bar, with an ounce each of the Harmony, Rare Cask 2024, and Time : Space Mastery for $187. This is Vegas, so there’s also a Macallan version of “bottle service”. Since the venue has a retail license, there’s nothing to stop you from taking your bottle, or what’s left of it, with you, though they would rather you enjoy it on-site. You can’t get Time: Space (there’s only one in stock), but you can buy Mastery ($2,200) as well as rarities such as Double Cask or Sherry 30 year old ($10,000) and Macallan M Black ($14,000).
Finally, the lounge offers half a dozen curated cocktails, each with a specific Macallan expression. The bestseller so far has been the Further Sky, a complicated take on a Highball with Double Cask 12 year old, pear eau de vie, honey, plum bitters, and soda ($25). At the high end are Moon Age Dream, a Rob Roy-inspired drink with Rare Cask 2023, white vermouth, bittersweet orange aperitivo, Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse liqueur, and raspberry liqueur ($95) and a top-shelf Old Fashioned variant, Retrograde, with Mastery, oloroso sherry, Giffard Banane du Bresil liqueur, crème de cacao, amaro, and mole bitters ($165).
