explorers in whisky since 1999
The Mackmyra Story - The Swedish Pioneer
The idea for a Swedish whisky was born by eight friends in a mountain cabin in 1998. To keep in touch since his engineering studies, it was a tradition to meet in Sälen once a year, and this time it turned out that everyone had brought their own bottle by chance - whisky. During a dinner, someone wondered why there was no Swedish malt whisky. If that was possible, why did no one do it already?
The question lingered and not long afterwards turned into the vision of becoming pioneers of the first Swedish malt whisky. One year later, in 1999, the company Mackmyra Swedish Whisky was founded. Right from the start, Mackmyra had set its sights on creating a whisky with a clear Swedish touch. Swedish barley, Swedish oak and local water became the starting point for the start of the discovery trip. A stroke of luck then led Mackmyra to develop the 30-liter barrel, which in its smaller format means that the whisky matures quickly and intensively. The smoky taste also has a Swedish marker and is produced on its own with Swedish peat and brittle juniper twigs.
Bruks Distillery
The distillery at Mackmyra Bruk was opened in 2002 and is a full scale pot-still distillery. It’s here that Mackmyra distilled their first single malt whisky up until year 2011, when the Gravity distillery in Mackmyra Whisky village opened and the production was moved. In 2017, the distillery at Mackmyra Bruk was brought back up and running under the name Lab+Distillery by Mackmyra, with the purpose to produce new innovative spirit-categories in collaboration with skilled craft distillers.
MILESTONES
1998 - The idea of a Swedish malt whisky is born
1999 - The first drops are distilled
2000 - The first 30-liter barrel is created
2001 - The Mackmyra recipes, Elegant and Smoke, are launched
2002 - Mackmyra Reserve is launched – it becomes possible to buy a custom barrel
2003 - A new warehouse on Fjäderholmarna in the Stockholm archipelago opens
2004 - Bodås Mine becomes Mackmyras main warehouse
2006 - A new warehouse at Häckeberga Castle in Skåne opens
2007 - A new warehouse on the west coast of Smögen opens
2008 - The first regular whisky “The First Edition” is launched
2009 - The construction of Mackmyra Whisky Village in Gävle starts
2010 - Opening of the Mackmyra Whisky Village
2011 - Gravity distillery opens in Mackmyra Whisky Village
2012 - We were appointed the European Spirits Producer of the Year by the IWSC
2013 - We launched our first smoky whisky, Svensk Rök (Swedish Smoke)
2013 - Opens an affiliate in Germany
2015 - We were appointed the World Distiller of The Year byWizards of Whisky
2016 - Launching Mack by Mackmyra
2017 - Mackmyra starts making gin at LAB Distillery
2017 - Opens an affiliate in UK
2018 - New warehouse, Hällsnäs, outside Gothenburg begins construction in
2019 - Angela D'Ozario, Mackmyra's Master Blender, inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame
2019 - Celebration of Twenty Years of Swedish Whisky
Climate Smart Distillation
Mackmyra Gravity Distillery opened in 2013.
Standing 35 metres tall, as the name suggests this building makes use of gravity throughout the whisky-making process. It was designed by the architects TEA whose mission it was to imbue the building with a character that captures the essence of Mackmyra: playfulness, sensuality and qualitative production.