Art Meets Spirits: Macallan Launches New Collection, Celebs Turn Out to Toast

Milk Studios in the Meatpacking District was abuzz with delicious scotch and even more delicious celebs Thursday night. Big names including actress Olivia Munn, Vincent Piazza (HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”) and Rose Byrne (“Marie Antoinette” and “Get Him to the Greek”) came out to celebrate two arts in one place — photography and scotch-making. The event kicked off the latest project for “The Macallan Masters of Photography Collection.”

I attended with a close girlfriend and we were struck by a couple things. First off, the gallery space filled with Albert Watson’s amazing photos was just breathtaking. It’s no surprise. Watson was the winner of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society’s 2010 Centenary Medal. He’s also photographer to the stars, such as Jack Nicholson, Keith Richards and Kate Moss. Watson took a 12-day journey and documented the process as be traveled from Spain where The Macallan’s signature sherry oak casks reside to The Macallan’s home in Scotland.

The second thing that struck us was the scotch. As we told you earlier this month, there is a limited selection of 200 bottles of their Sherry Oak 20 Years Old available for $1,000 a bottle. The bottles are gorgeous and make for a great special gift. It comes in a chic black box. You also get a taste of art on the side because it comes with a specially commissioned label by Watson and 10 unique portfolio prints.

The big boss of the night was the customized bottles of The Macallan 1946 whisky. There are only 36 of these available. Each comes with a signed one-of-a-kind collectible platinum print. These bottles are $16,000 per package.

Other celebs in attendance included David and Melissa Fumero of “One Life to Live,” socialite Alexandra Hilfiger, model Alexandra Richards, Nadia Dajani of Showtime’s “The Big C,” Callie Thorne of FX’s “Rescue Me” and Will Estes of “Blue Bloods.”