The Macallan celebrate six years of collaboration with acclaimed designer David Carson in Sydney
For a night, Sydney got to go behind one of the most dynamic partnerships in whisky
By AT ARTSPACE down in Sydney’s waterside neighbourhood of Woolloomooloo, whisky bottles shared a room with fractured typography and layered colour fields, an unlikely pairing for a Speyside house that has spent two centuries refining precision rather than chasing disruption. The occasion was the opening of In The Studio, an exhibition marking six years of creative collaboration between The Macallan and graphic designer David Carson.
The partnership began in 2025, when Carson took on the visual identity of The Macallan’s Double Cask and Sherry Oak Collections, two of the House’s most recognisable ranges. His approach, built on layered texture and deliberate disorder, sat against the discipline of the distillery’s own craft. The exhibition traced that exchange, pairing the mechanics of whisky making with the mechanics of design.
The day unfolded across two exhibition viewings, each followed by a whisky masterclass led by Diane Stuart, one of The Macallan’s Senior Whisky Makers. Guests moved through a tasting built around aroma, flavour, texture and sight, structured to draw out the character behind each expression, creating a multi-sensory immersion.
From there, the format shifted into something more personal. A scentarium presented four aromas, each tied to an element of The Macallan’s story, and guests selected the two that resonated most. The bartending team then translated those choices into individual cocktails, so each guest left with a serve built entirely around their own response to the scents. Among those working through the experience were Serena Wardell-Ettelson and husband Casper Ettelson, along with Sarah Stephens, Tom Derickx, Thomas Cocqueral and Helen Driscoll.
The evening closed with a cocktail celebration open to a wider circle of creatives, tastemakers and trade, with music from Melbourne DJ Crozier and canapés from Culinary Director Victor Moya Higueras threaded through the exhibition space until the final guests left the Woolloomooloo warehouse behind.
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