43°
Distillery : The Macallan - Speyside
Sherry Seasoned American and European Oak Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2020
Uncoloured
Totally Unpeated
There are several 18-year-old Macallans, first the Sherry Oak Cask, then the Fine Oak, the Colour Collection, and finally the Double Cask, which we are focusing on here. That's not counting the simple 18-year-old vintage, which was still being sold at the beginning of the century, but no longer exists. The Double Cask is aged in two types of cask, as its name suggests, American and European oak casks. Both come from the city of Jerez de la Frontera, the capital of sherry, where the distillery owns several bodegas. Unfortunately, it is chill-filtered and reduced to 43%, but at least there are no colourings.
Let's Taste It :
The nose strikes me as exceptional right away, with notes of salted butter caramel, soft toffee, prune clafoutis, macerated grapes, strawberry coulis, creamy vanilla, fermented cherries, a zest of blood orange, a slice of lime, dried tobacco leaves, acacia honey, beeswax, pine resin, dark chocolate and candied ginger. On the palate, it is a little light but perfectly balanced, on the one hand with dried apricots, mellow banana, pomegranate seeds and cooked apples, and on the other with measured spices, nutmeg, cloves and grey pepper. Rich and creamy woodiness, very honeyed, egg custard, pastry cream. The finish is long, powerful, even explosive, full of dried fruit, shortbread biscuits, citrus fruit and Turkish delight. Olive oil, one or two coffee beans, cashew nuts, cinnamon, very slight woody bitterness. A pinch of salt, a hint of cereal.
In Short,
The nose and finish completely enchanted me. Tasted blind, I found it to be an exceptional whisky, with a cask quality that is almost impossible to find anywhere else. On the palate, however, it is very balanced but a little light, which is a shame. With a few more degrees of alcohol and no chill filtration, it would be a magnificent whisky. As it is, it is just a very good product, with a nose you could spend hours enjoying, and a frankly outrageous price.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde
