
March 25, 2016

Macallan because we should

As a whisky blogger, you ought to taste some Macallan every once in a while. I suppose. Well, two of them will do...

Macallan 2006/2015 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, Speymalt)

Colour: straw. Nose: very natural, extremely barleyish, malty, slightly yeasty, bready, with some porridge and muesli, then apples and a vanilla/cinnamon combo. A very, very malty young one. Mouth: a little weird, but that's not a bad thing. Unexpected notes of tinned sardines covered with custard and lemon juice (yup), then rather oranges, with some cinnamon and white pepper, plus a little barley syrup and sawdust. It's really 'funny'. Finish: medium, a little zestier, but always with this strange sardine-y side. A fun unorthodox Macallan with some character. Comments: this one's hard to put into a box. Worth trying, especially since the price is rather fair. SGP:341 - 80 points.

Macallan 'Rare Cask Black' (48%, OB, travel retail, +/-2015)

A very expensive NAS, and plenty of marketing talk, but I couldn't find anything about 'how' they actually made this supposedly 'smoky' Macallan. A finishing in ex-peater wood? A smokier than usual distillate? Or simply casks that tasted a little smokier than usual to the blender(s)? War-time peaty distillate (I'm joking)? Colour: dark amber. Nose: rather metallic. Copper coins and old tin box, then gravel and potpourri, then dried figs and, indeed, a little peat smoke. It reminds me a little of Highland Park 12 years old, with this mild sherriness. There's some marzipan too, mouthwash... I like HP 12 better! Mouth: plenty of burnt oak, which makes it dissonant and, in my opinion, unpleasant. Bitter ashes, curry, bitter oranges, mustard, sawdust... Really difficult. Tends to gather its thoughts but it takes a lot of time to do that. Notes of blood oranges. Finish: long and curiously herbal and bitter. And acrid. A lot of raisiny oak in the aftertaste. Comments: not really for me. It may be 'very rare', but I don't think that's what's important. A very shaky one if you ask me. SGP:462 - 76 points.

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