Macallan Edition No 6 (48.6%, OB, 2020)
Created to 'pay homage' to the landscape around the distillery and the River Spey apparently, and done in collaboration with a fly fishing company called Hardy. I have to say, all these 'stories' on Macallan bottles smell funny to me, but at the same time I also have a big soft spot for whisky that ties into nature - even tenuously. So I will admit to a little cognitive dissonance here. Colour: deep gold. Nose: modern, rather peppery and slightly varnish-tinged sherry. So a little closed and with an acetic sharpness at first. However, this opens nicely with time and we're into quite pleasurable tobacco and leaf mulch territories. Some sultana, praline and coffee too. Quite reminiscent of the old OB 12 yo in some ways. I find the nose simple but very attractive. Mouth: good arrival, nice power, the ABV does some fine work here. Chocolate, tobacco, wet leaves, damp earth, walnuts - all very classical, typical and easy. You may add sultanas once again, and some nicely bitter Seville marmalade. Finish: good length, warming, gingerbread, dark fruits and a little touch of hessian and earthiness. Comments: Pretty hard to see how anyone who enjoys classical sherried Macallan wouldn't enjoy sipping this. I still think it would be more interesting with an age statement, in my humble opinion.
SGP: 551 - 85 points. 

Macallan 10 yo (40% / 70 proof, OB, UK, late 1970s)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: bang! Old school sherry. This unmistakeable and utterly charming mix of dried fruits with more luscious ripe green ones overlaid. Also leaf mulch, cocoa, tobacco and a savoury / salty rancio note. Enchanting is often the word that comes to mind with such bottlings. Mouth: very nutty, chocolatey and showing many dense notes of fig, date, sultana and praline. Also some espresso with a single sugar cube. Still muchly, leathery and chocolatey. Only thing is that detracts is a little bit of OBE mustiness. Finish: medium, leafy, autumnal, leathery and with some drier tones. Comments: pretty irrefutable really. We should retrospectively apply warning stickers to all such bottles: 'WARNING: do not consumer alongside current NAS Macallan'. Just that wee bit of OBE will hold this one back, but it's beautiful old style whisky.
SGP: 651 - 88 points.

Macallan 1851 'Inspiration' (41.6%, OB, 2010)
I'm sure you don't need me to tell you the story behind this rather amusing/ludicrous/embarrassing (delete as you prefer) series? Colour: orangey amber. Nose: a kind of halfway house between the 10 and the No 6 in some ways. There's a lovely tropical edge here but it's also more dominated by a nutty sherry profile. Peanut brittle with milk chocolate, praline, pipe tobacco, mushroom powder and this general impression of all things 'old library' - which I'm sure the Macallan directors of the time would have approved. Mouth: a little flat and flabby on arrival. There's a big dollop of marmalade-heavy sherry but it feels rather sweetish and confected. Sugary cafe latte, cheap madeira sponge cake and a touch of leather. Finish: medium, a tad short, not a whole lot going on. Feels like we've travelled a long way from the nose, some after notes of burnt caramel and fudge. Comments: Not sure what to say really. I had high hopes from the nose but the palate kind of went in its own, rather unlikely direction. I know other folk rate this higher, including Serge who had a version of this one at WF86 back in 2007, so it could be the bottle or just me most likely. Anyway, who cares!
SGP: 631 - 80 points.

Glenfarclas 15 yo (100 proof / 57.1%, OB for The Whisky Exchange)
One of two brand new, and rather nifty looking, exclusive Glenfarcli for TWE. Also, 100 proof is always cool. Colour: gold. Nose: golden syrup, toffee, cinnamon breakfast cereals, Biscoff spread - a very easy, open and classical profile where you don't feel the ABV too much. Quite clever in that regard. With water: lovely development on breads and spices, treacle on rye bread, a little aniseed and some malt loaf with raisins. Mouth: a similar, immediate impression of sweet nectars and syrups. Golden syrup, orange marmalade, sultanas and a little marzipan. An easy and gentle sherry profile that remains staunchly classical but with no sense of overt dominance or intrusion over the distillate. With water: the texture is the most striking part I think here, it becomes nicely 'gooey' with water, while there's plenty softer fruit notes coming through as well including kumquat and baked apple. In fact you could just say apple crumble with custard. Finish: good length, on soft cupboard spices, fruit scones, a touch of vanilla cream soda and more sweet cereals. Comments: Extremely quaffable and very well put together I'd say.
SGP: 641 - 86 points.

Glenfarclas 21 yo (94 proof / 54.2%, OB for The Whisky Exchange)
And here's the other half of this pair. Matured for 21 years in 'oloroso sherry seasoned oak'. Colour: deep, coppery gold. Nose: a more vinous style with a more pronounced and resinous sherry profile that takes in hints of acetic and balsamico. There's also something a notch more 'old school' about this one with some impressions of oily rags and camphor. Musty, earthen floored dunnage, putty, sultana and a little black olive bread. Really lovely and quite complex. With water: the fruit comes out more directly now, green banana, star fruit, tangerine and dried apricot. There's also a more reductive jammy quality as well but it remains quite subtle. Mouth: superb arrival! Oily, sharp, almost tart fruitiness. More impressions of hessian and dunnage along with olive oil, mead and putty. There's also an inkiness and various subtle flavours of crystallised and dark fruits. Some kind of crystallised lemon peel perhaps. And Cheng Pi, those long-aged orange peels they make tea from in China. Very impressive so far. With water: sugar caramelising with spices, clove, nutmeg, lime peel, old Cointreau, pot pourri, sandalwood. There's a lot very subtle and interesting stuff happening in here. Finish: long and now much more earthy and directly on classical sherry qualities such as tobacco, leaf mulch, leather, bitter chocolate and fruit liqueurs. Comments: I find the complexity and evolution in this one really impressive. Yet it remains first and foremost extremely drinkable and easy, lots to enjoy here.
SGP: 651 - 89 points.

Glenfarclas 40 Year Old (43.4%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #1.154 'Under the Moonlight', refill hogshead, 61 bottles)
From this mini era where SMWS, for some bewildering reason, thought it was a good idea to stop putting vintages on their labels. Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: an extremely scented profile where you can tell the cask has started to 'close in'. However, the wood is wonderfully clean so what you get is this familiar mix of beehive waxiness, pollens, toasty wood spices, dried flowers and exotic hardwood resins. Also fruit teas, dried herbs and rosewater. Pretty fragile but there's elegance and beauty still here aplenty. Mouth: it's not as overpowered as you might expect, there's a big hit of sweet coconut along with shoe polish, beeswax, leather, herbal liqueurs, quince and plum wine. The tannins are becoming rather warm and peppery as they nibble around the sides but this is pretty excellent. Finish: good length, on many various assorted teas, herbs, soft medicinal touches and crystallised citrus peels. Comments: If you love scented, slightly fragile old single malts you'll be giggling. It does feel tired in some places so technically it won't get passed 90. But this is extremely bonnie old Glenfarclas for sure.
SGP: 561 - 88 points. 

Glenfarclas 21 yo 'A Princely Whisky for a Royal Occasion' (52%, OB, -/+ 1970)
An extreme rarity, one I never tried before. In the pre-cube, tall bottle presentation. Needless to say: expectations are high… Colour: gold. Nose: I've lost count of the number of times I've written 'another world' at the outset of these kinds of notes. But really: another world! Like spooning molten fruit syrups into a beehive. Green and tropical fruits galore along with a very thick, stodgy pollen and honey combinations. Stunningly thick, textural, waxy and aromatic. It also has this extremely 'liqueur like' vibe which seems only to be found in such old style glories. Some kind of ancient yellow Chartreuse with soft peppery warmth and many tiny medicinal and mineral qualities too. Exquisite! With water: spicier, sootier, oilier and more mechanical and waxy. Opens exquisitely with endless wee notes of dried fruits and flowers. Mouth: seriously, this is just old Chartreuse! Incredible thickness and textural weight in the mouth. Immensely medicinal, herbal, honeyed and yet with this very slight nervous saltiness too. Like salted mead with more pollens, tobacco leaf, mineral oil and thick, powerful notes of camphor, wax and hessian. Stunning! With water: my God! The peat, the herbs, the medicines, the power! Quick, you know who to call! Finish: stunningly long, resinous, herbaceous, medicinal, oily, spicy and waxy. Comments: one of the most powerfully herbal whiskies I ever tried; reminds me more of some ancient late-19th century whiskies than 50s distillate, quite astonishing. Everyone serious about whisky should endeavour to try bottlings of this style and quality on occasion. I appreciate it's an expensive and not exactly easy proposition these days, but it's worth the effort in my view. Nothing else grounds you and re-calibrates your sense of quality quite like these kinds of old masterpieces.
SGP: 663 - 94 points.