Kategoriarkiv: Macallan

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan Sienna

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is ripe fruits and berries. A thick layer of vanilla, overripe plums and raisins stretch out over a fresh fruity base. In the back there are green grapes and red apples. There’s a gentle spicyness surrounding everything and in the background the oakiness peek through. There’s also a ginger note binding everything together. This is most certainly a sherry bomb, even though it’s quite mild to the nose.

Mouth: It starts out very thick and creamy. It’s vanilla heavy and the ripe fruitiness is still prominent, but it has taken a small step back. A sour lemon note is now sitting in the background. There is a floral note floating around in the middle. The spicyness builds up and it’s coming from the oak, not the ABV. It becomes slightly astringent after a while. The oakiness has a nutty side to it with walnuts coming through and they bring along a nice bitterness.

Finish: The bitterness is joining the vanilla and the sherry fruitiness as the main attraction. The spicyness travels on a downward slope and gets further and further away. It’s a very nice spicyness and it feels more powerful than it is. The oakiness is somewhat ananomous and just push forward the walnuts as a representative. It’s a very nice, nutty flavour though. The finish is long and rewarding. This is surprisingly good.

Additional information
This expression is a part of the Macallan 1824 series. It’s aged in a mix of first fill ex-sherry casks made from american and european oak. It has natural colour.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan 12 YO – Sherry Oak Cask

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and dark sherry fruity. At first there’s a mix of vanilla and sweet liquorice together with liqueur-soaked cherries, raisins, ripe plums and just a small hint of marzipan. Some fresh berries come through on the edges and maybe a hint of red apples too. The cask influence really covers most of the distillate. There’s a seeweedy note on top that brings it down a few notches. This is not complex, just mild and sherry-driven.

Mouth: The intro is quite flat and watery and it takes a while to get to the flavours. First out are vanilla and cherries, then a bitterness builds up and leads way directly to the oakiness. The sweet liquorice is still prominent in the mix as well as raisins. Some dried figs are now also detectable. A tiny spice note and a hint of cinnamon tries to fight the bitter oak for attention. It’s somewhat astringent, but it only shows after a few sips.

Finish: A dry oak almost immediately takes front seat. Plums, figs and raisins are creating a baseline together with the sweet liquorice. There are coffee, cinnamon and brown syryp notes. It’s quite dry and astringent. There is a spicyness but it starts out on a low level and then moves on a downslope through the entire finish. The oak is wet, grey wooden planks. This is a decent dram but the nose is much better than the rest.

Additional information
This expression is matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry seasoned oak casks from Jerez, Spain. It rests in the same cask for the entire maturation period.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan 12 YO – Double Cask

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a layer of honey and vanilla sitting on top of fresh red berries. When it settles both cinnamon and a hint of sweet liquorice arrive. There’s a nice balance between the sweetness and the fruitiness. It’s mild and not especially complex. After some time in the glass the fruitiness shifts towards dried assorted fruits with Raisins as well as dried coconut flakes. This is a straight forward nose with a lot of nice things within.

Mouth: It starts out a bit flat for a second or two before a mild spicyness builds up. The oak is present in the background from the get-go as well. The fruitiness is much darker compared to the nose with a heavy emphasis on raisins and overripe plums. There are still notes of cinnamon and vanilla and it feels very dessert-like. There’s a fresher fruitiness peeking through from behind but it takes a few seconds before it’s noticable. It doesn’t feel as balanced as on the nose and it feels like the different components never interacts with each other.

Finish: The sherry fruitiness starts out around the edges and the center part feels sort of empty. The fruitiness then moves towards the center to make room for the oakiness around the edges. There’s a hint of orange marmelade coming through as well as raisins and figs. It’s a fresher fruitiness than before. The oakiness is a bit indecisive, with a mix of fresh vanilla and sligthly nutty and bitter oak. There’s a slight spicyness coming from the oak as well. This is a good whisky but it lacks power and feels a bit unbalanced to the taste.

Additional information
This expression from Macallan is matured in a combination of American and European oak for at least 12 years. The american oak casks are also ex-Sherry and haven’t contained any bourbon.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan Amber

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and vanilla. At first there’s a thick layer of dark fruitiness with raisins, plums and liqeuer-soaked cherries together with a vanilla coating. There are also a fresher fruitiness within, as well as a hint of cinnamon. The sherry notes feel like a lid on top of the distillate. They do grow more three-dimensional and darker with time in the glass. There are hints of oak peeking through at times. There is also a heavy sweetness coming through and it feels very connected to the dark fruitiness. This is a nice nose, but it feels somewhat divided into two parts.

Mouth: It starts out with lemon in the back and assorted dry fruits up front. After a few seconds it shifts and turns towards a darker character with ripe blackberries and bitter black coffee notes in the back. It turns even darker with time and it’s not as sweet as on the nose. The vanilla and cinnamon are still in there together with a hint of toffee but they are subdued by the dark fruits and black coffee. It’s very mild and even though it’s flavourful it’s not producing any hard impact on the palate.

Finish: It starts out with a quick minty fresh sweep before the dark fruits and black coffee notes return. The vanilla and cinnamon is now really pushed back and that leaves room for the oakiness to emerge from within the coffee notes. It’s a nice oakiness which matches the profile very well. The contribution to the coffee notes aside it doesn’t deliver any other specific characteristics. The lemon note returns in the late finish which isn’t all too suitable. This is a good whisky which has a couple of flaws when scrutinized, but it’s still a nice and easy sipper.

Additional information
Amber is a part of Macallan’s 1824 series. It’s aged in a combination of refill ex-sherry american oak casks and first fill spanish ex-sherry casks. It contains whiskies from 8-18 years old.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan 12 YO – Triple Cask

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: Dense and very sweet. There’s a thick mat of raisins and honey. Underneath there are liqueur soaked cherries, sweet liquorice and vanilla. There’s a thin layer of seaweed on top which brings the experience down a little. The cask influence (not the oak) completely covers the distillate. In the background there’s a note of wet clothes after a walk in the rain.

Mouth: Very sweet and mild. The vanilla is very much up front together with butterscotch and pure white sugar. There’s a thin note of violets sitting in the middle as a nice easter egg. The sherry notes are still very heavy on the raisins, but now the distillate shines through with some pears and lemons. It’s oily and it’s got a luxurious texture. There’s a black pepper in the surroundings but it’s not pronounced.

Finish: The sherry notes are now the main feature pushing everything else back. The violets are still to be found. It still got vanilla and raisins a-plenty together with a butterscotch note. The oak finally peeks through, but never takes over. The black pepper note is building up as a nice contrast to the thick sweetness. Overall it feels a bit over-engineered.

Additional information
This was renamed from ”Fine Oak” to ”Triple Cask” in 2018 and is a part of Macallan’s new core range. It’s aged in separate casks from european sherry seasoned casks, american white oak sherry seasoned casks and american ex-bourbon barrels and then married together before bottling.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan Rare Cask

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded.

Additional information
The Rare cask expression is a mix of ex-sherry cask types, mostly first fills. All casks are premium and selected to fit the profile. It was first released in 2014-15.