Memory is the product - Industry conversations with Matthew Anderson, Food & Beverage Manager, The Macallan Estate

Jun 24
6 min read

Updated: Aug 24

"Listening to your guests and developing a relationship during their experience always leads to a memory to think back on years down the line."

Man with a mustache in a black blazer stands before blurred liquor bottles in a bar, looking serious.

The Art of Connection: Creating Memorable Experiences at The Macallan Estate

Matthew Anderson, the Food and Beverage Manager at The Macallan Estate, shared a profound insight during a recent conversation. He mentioned that his time as a brand ambassador in Dubai taught him more about guests than his experience running F&B operations in Speyside. This statement wasn't just a passing remark; it was a crucial takeaway.

Matthew has been a part of The Macallan since the new distillery opened in 2018. He has witnessed the evolution of the visitor experience firsthand. From a whisky bar and à la carte offerings to a fine dining tasting menu, he has played a key role in shaping what is now TimeSpirit, a restaurant that opened in October 2024. TimeSpirit carries the ambition of earning a Michelin star.

A Unique Career Path

Matthew's career trajectory is worth noting. He started as a tour guide at the previous Visitor Centre. Then, he worked as a bartender, F&B Supervisor, and Brand Ambassador in Dubai. After returning to Speyside, he took on roles as Head Bartender and Assistant Manager before becoming the F&B Manager. Each position offered a different perspective on one fundamental question: What do guests truly need from their experience?

While many in hospitality follow a linear path, Matthew's journey has been more diverse. Each role has equipped him with valuable insights.

Lessons from Dubai

His time in Dubai is particularly noteworthy. For nearly a year, he immersed himself in the luxury hospitality sector. He became more culturally aware and learned what guests in that environment value. The fine details matter when you've experienced a world where nothing is overlooked. Returning to Speyside, he brought that knowledge back to the operational side of running F&B at one of Scotland's most visited distilleries.

What stands out in Matthew's experience is that the key quality in both roles wasn’t product knowledge or technical skills. It was connection. He highlighted the importance of small gestures, like pulling out a chair or selecting a whisky to mark a special occasion. These details don’t just appear on any menu; they arise from someone paying close attention to the individual in front of them, rather than a generic version of a guest.

The Importance of Personalisation

This concept deserves reflection. The hospitality industry often treats personalisation as a systems problem, focusing on CRM and data. Pine and Gilmore argued back in 1998 that businesses competing in the experience space are in the memories business. Memory, they claimed, is the product, not the dish or the dram. It’s what guests carry with them.

Research supports this notion. Qualtrics XM Institute found that 77% of customers would recommend a brand after a single positive experience. Additionally, Motista's research revealed that customers who feel genuinely emotionally connected to a brand have a lifetime value 306% higher than those who are merely satisfied. Satisfaction is not the same as connection, and the industry sometimes overlooks this distinction.

Storytelling as the Thread

What Matthew describes at The Macallan is not merely a personalisation strategy; it's a philosophy. "Storytelling is at the heart of what we do," he states. With over 200 years of heritage, their dedication to craftsmanship and the natural beauty of the estate provide endless inspiration.

Group of adults sharing a meal at a restaurant table, chatting and smiling over drinks and dishes

At TimeSpirit, this inspiration manifests in a unique partnership with El Celler de Can Roca, the renowned Girona restaurant run by the Roca Brothers. This collaboration has informed their approach to menu curation and pairing, ensuring that both whisky and cuisine are enjoyed at their finest. The result is an experience where food and whisky engage in a delightful conversation.

Matthew’s pairing philosophy reflects this. Sometimes, a dish leads the way, with whisky chosen to complement it. Other times, the whisky takes the lead. "Both need to sing rather than one shine more than the other," he explains. In a well-designed experience, no single element overshadows the others. The space, pacing, knowledge of the guide, and quality of what’s in the glass all support one another.

Synaesthesia in the Kitchen

I experience synaesthesia when I nose whisky. I see vivid scenes, colours, and textures. It’s a unique way my brain processes flavour. When I shared this with Matthew, I was pleasantly surprised by his response.

"With the TimeSpirit tasting menu, we look beyond traditional pairing. We aim to compose a cohesive narrative that unfolds through both the whiskies and the dishes," he explained. "Each course is designed with intention, creating moments of crescendo that our whisky meets with equal depth of aroma, flavour, and story."

He added, "We collaborate with a talented team, some of whom share your synaesthetic way of experiencing whisky. There is often a vivid exchange of imagery, colour, and memory anecdotes that enrich the moment and transform the tasting into something immersive."

This insight was unexpected and enlightening. It highlights how the best experience design is evolving. It’s not about delivering a script; it’s about genuine engagement among everyone in the room.

Understanding the Experience Economy

Pine and Gilmore's framework is clear: experiences offer a higher level of customer value than services because they are memorable and rich in sensation. The emotional connection made during an experience is where the true value lies, not in the product itself, but in what a person carries away.

This principle is at the core of everything Vantage Creative does. The spirits industry has a long history of treating guests as individuals to be educated rather than heard. Tasting notes are often delivered with confidence, using vocabulary that creates in-groups and out-groups. There’s an unspoken suggestion that if you can’t articulate what you’re tasting, you might not belong. I’ve seen this dynamic play out repeatedly. It’s not what experience design should be; it’s what it defaults to when no one asks the harder question: What does this person actually feel?

Matthew’s answer to that question, shaped by every role he has held and every guest he has encountered, aligns with Vantage Creative’s philosophy. People remember how you made them feel. The whisky is merely the mechanism; the memory is the outcome.

At Vantage Creative, we design experiences around what you actually perceive, not what a tasting note dictates. We ask the questions instead of delivering the answers. In our space, no one is wrong because perception is individual, and that’s precisely the point.

Matthew’s father, Russell Anderson, a former Distillery Manager at The Macallan with over thirty years in the industry, taught him a valuable lesson: resilience. Don’t dwell on setbacks; take the positives forward. This instinct is applied differently: keep your attention on what’s in front of you. This quality shines through in Matthew’s work. Not every role was a straightforward ascent. Some were lateral moves, and others took him across the globe and back. All were beneficial.

Experience The Macallan Estate

If this conversation has sparked your interest in experiencing what Matthew's team has created, The Macallan Estate offers three distinct ways to engage.

TimeSpirit is The Macallan's collaboration with El Celler de Can Roca. Enjoy a six-course lunch tasting menu for £75 per person or a nine-course dinner for £105 per person, available Thursday to Sunday. The restaurant seats just 24 guests, featuring an open kitchen and stunning views of the Speyside countryside. Whisky or wine pairing is available with both menus.

The Macallan Bar boasts the largest selection of Macallan single malts in the world, complete with handcrafted whisky cocktails and non-alcoholic options, open Thursday to Sunday.

Distillery experiences are available for public bookings from Thursday to Sunday, with private experiences on Monday to Wednesday. All must be booked in advance. For full details and reservations, visit themacallan.com.

At Vantage Creative, we share the same starting point.

Guests who leave a tasting still talking about it aren’t the ones who were told the most. They’re the ones who were listened to. They were given the space to discover what they truly think, rather than being guided toward the "correct" answer.

That’s the experience Vantage Creative designs for private bookings, venue partnerships, and bespoke sensory events across Speyside and beyond. Seven spirit categories. One consistent question: What do you actually get from this?

Get in touch at vantagecreativescot.co.uk

Your senses. Your discovery.