Christmas tasting, five Macallan

December 23, 2015

Xmas

Christmas tasting, five Macallan

If there’s a name that’s been very ‘Christmassy’ in the past, it was Macallan, with its legendary - now sadly abandoned - ‘everything in sherry’ motto. Whether paxarette or brandy had been used sometime won’t change anything, their whiskies were simply great, or even the greatest. Perhaps one day they will go back to what they were claiming on their older labels? You know (I quote from a mid-1980s 25 years old), “Whilst other distillers no longer insist on using oaken sherry casks, at Macallan this costly tradition is maintained.” Things have changed, and Macallan got in line within the last ten years or so, but it remains one of the great brands in my opinion. Just the prices have got, say pretty offbeat? Anyway, let’s have a bunch of old and newer bottlings today, starting with a very special apéritif…

Macallan 'Special Reserve' (43%, OB, 75cl, +/-1985)

A rare early NAS bottling by the owners, still wearing a screw cap. We’re having this baby first because of the lower strength, but not totally sure that’s a very good idea, given the colour… Colour: dark amber. Nose: sherry galore, and that would rather be figs, dates, Corinthian raisins, mocha, and dark chocolate, then smoked ham and touches of flints, plus a little coal smoke. No, quite a lot of coal smoke. There’s some old Macallan in there for sure, the smoke gives that away. Tends to become more and more armagnacky (!), with even more raisins but also prunes. Mouth: it still roars, and it’s definitely not a smooth, lazily rounded Macallan. I’d even say it’s a little rough around the edges, with some plum eau-de-vie in coffee, as well as a gritty, slightly drying tannicity. Like in 80%-chocolate. I’m not quite in awe, some sides remind me of the old 10 yo circa the same years. Something feels ‘young’, but it’s very good sherried whisky, no doubt about that. Finish: I like the finish better, it’s very prune-y and chocolaty. Marmalade and ginger in the aftertaste. Comments: I utterly loved the nose, and found the palate just a little more mundane and rawish. SGP:562 - 86 points.

Macallan 1989/2003 (45%, Samaroli, sherry puncheon, cask #8274, 798 bottles)

I’m formally trying this baby for the second time, because I had been very disappointed with it last time in 2011 (WF 77). This is another bottle, so let’s check if that was an accident… Colour: gold. Nose: absolutely not a sherry monster, rather the opposite, hence slightly un-Samaroli as far as Speysiders are concerned. I’m rather finding some candle wax, almond paste, paraffin, and this unusual medicinal side (unusual in Macallan, that is). A little absinth, perhaps? Also a chalkiness. A strange-ish Macallan. Mouth: yeah, really strange. Rubber and ham? Ink, plastic, more chalk, bison grass vodka… Finish: quite long but bitterish, grassy, too waxy/paraffiny… Comments: nah, that wasn’t an accident, and I may have been too generous back in 2011. One of the weirdest Macs out there, but in that sense, it’s fun whisky. I don’t think I’ll try a third bottle ;-). SGP:361 - 72 points. PS I've also just tried a few Glenlivet s bottled around the same time by Samaroli, they're on a whole different planet!

Quick, another 1989…

Macallan-Glenlivet 26 yo 1989/2015 (49.6%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon barrel, 162 bottles)

A brand new one that reminds me of the times when we were getting as excited as cats whenever an unsherried Macallan was in sight. Agreed, quite the opposite these days ;-). Colour: pale gold. Nose: aaaah! This one’s as fresh and fruity as a 5 years old, but it’s just stunning because of the added complexity that only age, whichever the cask and its state, can bring to any whisky. That, you cannot replicate with more of that dreadful ‘wood technology’ that’s so en vogue these days beyond Hadrian’s wall. Mirabelles, quinces, apricots, soft vanilla, and this lovely wine that they make in the Pyreneans, called Jurançon moelleux. Mouth: Macallan totally au naturel, slightly rough, with pineapples, bananas, kiwis, and more mirabelles. Or say all those fruits macerated in good artisan kirsch. Let’s see what water does to it, just in the name of science (while the nose got rather maltier and almost bready)… Yeah, very malty, with a typical Macallan fatness, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best swimmer ever. It doesn’t need water anyway. Finish: long, fruity, barleyish. More oranges. Comments: going up again ;-). An extremely interesting – and good – ‘wild’ Macallan. SGP:551 - 88 points.

Good, back to the past if you don’t mind…

Macallan-Glenlivet 15 yo (100° UK proof, Gordon & MacPhail, licensed bottling, 26 2/3 fl.ozs., +/-1970)

1950s distillation, what can go wrong? A very desirable bottle at the right proof and of good age, expect quite a rollercoaster! Please note that it came in G&M’s famous silk-screened bottle, with its wee thistles… Colour: coffee. Nose: holy f… err, fudge! Nosing the exhaust of an E-type, first series. Then cocoa pods, just-roasted coffee beans, and roasted chestnuts. Splendid ;-). With water: we’re in a Jerezan bodega, nosing old having said that… There’s even a little castor oil. Mouth (neat): Ellingtonian. Starts smooth (thanks Juan Tizol) and then starts to roar and bite and punch, with no off-notes, only loads of chocolate and marmalade. A little deafening after thirty seconds, this is almost becoming Iggy’s Stooges playing Raw Power. Bye-bye Johnny Hodges. With water: M.a.c.a.l.l.a.n. Coffee, raisins, salt, chocolate, marmalade, smoked beef… Totally impeccable. Finish: very long, on the same flavours, with a slightly peppery aftertaste. Comments: ultra-classic Macallan, no franchised bottling. There used to be a word for these kinds of bottlings… ah, yeah, seminal… Hope they haven’t broken the old mould! SGP:562 - 93 points.

Raw Power, he said…

Macallan-Glenlivet 'As We Get It' (100.9°proof, MacFarlane, Bruce & Co., +/-1960)

Both seminal AND legendary. 1950s distillation, or possibly the 1940s. A bottling for big boyz, undoubtedly, as this is malt whisky that was fatter and bolder than today, bottled at a super-high strength. We might need a bulletproof vest… Colour: straw/white wine. No sherry! Nose: fabulous, old Macallan without any apparent sherriness, how rare is that? It’s mesmerizing, with an incredible complexity that hints at the best of white Burgundy. No, really. Limestone, grapefruits, honeysuckle, gooseberries, fresh butter, lilac, spearmint, more grapefruits… Perhaps more a great Chablis than a Meursault or a Montrachet so far… Let’s see what happens once water’s been added - because it really keeps punching you after all these years. With water: silex! You just cannot beat this. And myriads of tinier aromas, raw wool, barley, ink, old toolbox, coins, putty, plasticine, marzipan, putty (you're repeating yourself, S.), graphite, asphalt, carbon, brake fluid… Oh, and one tiny green apple. Mouth (neat): I want to marry this whisky. The purity is insane, everything is just totally perfect. This is utterly grand. Please call the anti-maltoporn brigade (long time no see, guys!) With water: incredible purity and intensity. Finish: amazing. Lemons, bitter almonds, chalk, nori, citrons… Comments: porno malt. And I’m sure it was dead cheap! Un-oaken ageing at its very best, glorious, pure, vibrant, almost theological. Proof that whisky can be both pure and complex. SGP:662 - 97 points.

PS: well, even without sherry – or very little of it - Macallan could be Macallan.
(Angus, Diego, and Max, you rock)

Check the index of all Macallan I've tasted so far