A limited edition 34-year-old Speyside single malt has been launched to mark the Maclean brothers’ world record-breaking 9,750-mile row across the Pacific Ocean.
Drawn from a single 1991 Auchroisk cask donated by Diageo and hand-selected by their father, whisky expert Charles Maclean MBE, proceeds from the 248-bottle release will go to The Maclean Foundation’s fundraising for clean water projects in Madagascar.
Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan Maclean, from Edinburgh, arrived at Cairns, Australia on 30 August 2025 after rowing for 139 days from Lima, Peru, unsupported, setting a new world record for the fastest human-powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
The brothers completed their row before reaching their £1 million target, which was achieved in the days that followed thanks to more than 14,000 donors. Those funds will enable clean water projects for over 40,000 people in Madagascar.
On the same day the brothers rowed into Cairns Marina, more than 10,000 miles away that single cask of Auchroisk whisky – filled on 15 August 1991, six months before eldest brother Ewan was born – was being bottled at Auld Bond Bottlers in Perth.
Matured in virgin oak and bottled at 44.5% ABV, each bottle will raise enough money to give at least one person clean water for life.
Maclean senior described the whisky as: “Far and away the finest example of Auchroisk I have ever encountered – rich and sumptuous, sophisticated and multi-layered, entirely satisfying.”
Auchroisk is the latest distillery to support the Foundation’s cause, following three previous charity bottlings with Ardnamurchan, Glen Scotia and Isle of Raasay.
President of Global Supply and chief sustainability officer at distillery owners Diageo, Ewan Andrew, said: “We’re proud to support the Foundation with this cask, who share our mission of improving access to clean water in communities.
“Water is our most important ingredient, but it is also a precious shared resource that is facing increasing pressure in many parts of the world. Real change comes through collective action, and the Maclean Foundation is showing just what working in partnership can achieve.”
Eldest brother Ewan (33) added: “We are so grateful to Diageo for donating the cask. When we rowed into Cairns to hundreds of people cheering, we had no idea this whisky was being bottled for us back in Scotland.
“To come home and see it – and to know it will fund even more water projects – is overwhelming in the best possible way, as is the support we’ve received from the entire whisky industry. “
The whisky, priced at £349, is available exclusively from Royal Mile Whiskies.
