Now onto one of the most easily recognisable, and arguably also one of the most iconic, whisky houses – The Macallan. This iconability is largely due to it being featured quite prominently in some of the James Bond movies
Whisky: The Macallan 15 Year Old Fine Oak, 43% ABV (Cost around R870)
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Style: Single Malt
Age: 15 Years
The Macallan’s curiously small spirit stills are the smallest on Speyside. Their unique size and shape give the spirit maximum contact with the copper, helping to concentrate the ‘new make’ spirit. There are fourteen of these curiously small stills, and they are so famous that they have appeared on the back of a Bank of Scotland £10 banknote.
The Macallan’s oak casks are the single greatest contributor to the outstanding quality, natural colours and distinctive aromas and flavours of The Macallan. In fact 60% of the flavour of a whisky is derived from the cask it is matured in. Because of this, The Macallan spends more per cask than any other distillery in sourcing, crafting, seasoning and caring for its casks.
So for the 15 Year Old Fine Oak, it is triple cask matured – Spanish oak casks seasoned with sherry, American oak casks seasoned with sherry and American oak casks seasoned with bourbon.
Colour: Rich gold with bloody lovely thick and long legs.
Nose: A lovely sweet and full nose, with dried fruits (mostly pear and apples), caramel and tinned peas. It has a beautiful sweetness about it. The nose also really develops and opens up with time, and I find more of a woodiness and a hint of smoke towards the end.
Palate: A powerful, round and spicy palate. Winter spices (predominately cinnamon and nutmeg), vanilla and dark chocolate. Also has an underlying sweet oakiness about it.
Finish: Very powerful and spicy oak finish that is medium to long. Has dried fruit sweetness on end.
Overall: A nicely balanced whisky that I find to be a superb and ideal mix between sweetness and spice (winter spice).
My Score: 83
The Smoky Dram 