Mackinlays has been bottled in numerous guises over the last two centuries, with blended Scotch, vatted malt and single malt all bottled under the brand.

By the early 1980s the brand was the 11th best-selling Scotch in the UK, led by Mackinlays Legacy, which was bottled at 12, 17 and 21 years of age, and The Original Mackinlay. At the time, The Original contained no less that 34% malt, the majority of which was from Speyside. Although the name has changed to Mackinlays Original, the same recipe is still adhered to today by Whyte & Mackays master blender Richard Paterson. The current version is a vatting of malt and grain whiskies aged for at least five years and bottled at 40% abv.