Macallan has for long been considered a classic because of their old sherried bottlings, at prices one could buy a small house for. While I know many people are living it up with a 70-something Macallan or two these days, but personally, I'd rather buy a house or a car. So there are no extreme oldies in this session, but rather some young IB's and very recent young OB's. I think maybe their glamorous image is fading a bit with the "Fine Oak"-bottlings, but I do admit however that the 12yo sherried one was a superb whisky to a nice price quality considered. I hope this distillery will get up on its high horse again as soon as they find a decent and more affordable replacement for sherry casks. With a production of 6million liters annually they are still one of the biggest malt whisky producers out there..
Macallan 12yo 45.6% Gran Reserva
I think the Gran Reserva was a 2000's version of sherried whisky, all aged exclusively in spanish sherry casks. The color is dark brown. It smells rich, syrupy, oak, honey, licorice, extremely rich. The taste is citrussy, lemon, bitter, tannins, needs some water. Wit a couple teaspoons of water added it turns more fruity, apple pie, peppery, tannic again.
Very tannic, very much like drying red wine: 4.5
Macallan 13yo 1990-2003 46% Murray McDavid cask#11967
Orang/amber hue, once again from a sherry cask. MM does a good job selecting casks, but sometimes I feel that their finishing strategies, so to speak, sometimes gives very strange results. This one has not been finished in any weird red wine cask. It smells burnt, honeyed, honey/bitterschnaps mixture. bitter white wine, burnt rubber, silver polish, soap. The taste is burnt and peppery with some cinnamon, pleasant peppery, rustic, slate dust.
Old style, but not old macallan style: 4.5
Macallan 12yo 1990-2003 46% Hart Brothers
Another one from a sherry cask, and the same vintage and strength as the MM, third score draw in a row then? Or has Hart brothers chosen a superior or inferior cask? The color is again amber/orange. It smells hairspray, honey, camphor, nougat, old attic, grandmas clothing, really rustic. The taste is burnt and peppery, bitter, oath meal, mouthwash, grainy. Needs some water to lift it up I think. With water it turns even more peppery and spirity. Imagine if this one was peated at a level of, say 40ppm as well. It'd be a killer.
The rather harsh peppery and spirity notes steals the show: 2.5
Macallan 18yo 46% Cadenhead's
A slimmer miniature bottle, for the americn market, which means 80 proof. Many of these old Cadenhead's have surprised me, and I wonder how they'd be received if bottled at cask strength today. There is no statement of this being from a sherry cask, but being bottled some decades back, one could surely assume so. Grey-ish yellow color, sort of lifeless. It smells spirity, apple spirit, coleslaw, esters, sour, ginger. This is very good. The taste is light and spirity, almost minty, some passion fruit and hints of melon and kiwi. I have a hard time understanding how these fruity and fresh notes could come from a sherry cask, but of course, I don't mind them. A bit drying on green grape notes in the finish.
Drying and fruity, one might wish it was a CS: 5.5
Macallan 13yo 1997-2010 52.3% OB Easter Elchies Casl Selection cask#432
From a sherry butt, I hope this one will remind me a bit more of those old sherried OB versions than the ones I've had so far has. The color is again very dark on this OB. Is it so that they do color adjustment on the OB's or are they just selling refills to IB's? Off course, it could be neither. It smells extremely thick and sulphury, in A'bunadh, drying olroso-country this one. Cinnamon and burnt wood as well. The taste is thick, almonds, sulphur, licorice, needs some water to open up, although I must add, for a sherry-freak this is probably right up the alley of what's considered "very good" sherried whisky. With adrop of added water it turns dryer, more peppery, bitter, kind of reminding me a little of the one from Hart Brothers.
I guess they didn't release this having dilution in mind: 5.5
Macallan 13yo 1995-2008 52.8% OB Easter Elchies cask#4016
Another one from the Easter Elchies series. Same age, but from a sherry hogshead instead of butt, which means there should be even more herried notes in this one, if the belief of smaller cask maturing faster should stick to its guns. Another one that has gotten a very dark color, this being very close to red wine actually. It smells thick, dark chocolate, cinnamon sticks, honey, creamy, malt syrup, extremely thick and heavy, but still very sweet, raisins, prunes, WOWWW! The taste is rich and sulphury, honey sweetness, radishes, drying, carrot juice, beets.
Very good, one for the hardcore oloroso fans, and me indeed: 7.5
Macallan 20yo 53.2% Cadenhead's
With a 90's-early 2000's label, but still describing the distillery as Macallan-Glenlivet. A bit late to earn in on the very late success of Glenlivet Distillery? Actually I imagine that the time of bottling this one, Macallan may already have surpassed Glenlivet as Single Malts gem. The color is dark golden brown. I do not doubt this being from a sherry cask, not at all. It smells rich, creamy, cinnamon, sulphury, red wine, raspberries, cherries, grapefruit, radishes, paprika, fantastic so far. The taste is very burnt and peppery, some leeks and rhubarb, drying. A very good whisky, but this very drying whisky calls for some water. With a small drop or two added it turns sweeter, more beeds, red paprika, ginger honey and mustard. All in all an adventure of whisky, though not without the bumps you might find along the road, that could speak up loudly in any session.
This is sherried whisky as it should be: 8
Macallan 12yo 59.6% Easter Elchies cask#9455/9195/4693/4696
I do hope that it comes to show, vatted casks being just as solid as single casks when bottled at CS, as the G&M Cask-series has shown me many times so far. At least this is a strength that I'm comfortable with. I have to say although being very sherried, in an oloroso-way, the OB's in this session has struggled a bit, expect the #4016 of course. The color on this one is borderline coffee. It smells extreme, sherried, roasted nuts, honey, tooth-paste, fresh herbs, polyester, onions, minty, licorice, coffee, rubber, a long way to go still, but it does contain a lot of characters that would make it a perfect 20-something talker around the table 8 years down the road. The taste is thick, syrupy, caramel, dark chocoloate, honey. Once again, if you're an extreme sherry freak this should be no problem, but if you want a whisky that could go around the room, please choose something else.
Sherrying whiskies just might be the answer, buy more sherries!: 8
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