Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: American and European Sherry seasoned
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: No
Owner: Edrington Group
Average price: € 175.00
Official website: www.themacallan.com
Vote: 83/100
At the recent Velier Live, which I attended with the Whisky Club Italia for a series of tastings dedicated to the world of whisky, I was able to take part in the experience organised by Macallan, with four bottlings, the first three of which were paired with as many finger foods of the highest quality, with accompaniments that I must say were really very apt, in particular the tagliolini with the twelve-year-old.
But here we are talking about whisky, and since it has been a while since I covered the Double Cask series, I could not pass up the opportunity to take samples of the other two bottlings (plus the latest Harmony Collection), thanking Andrea Brulatti for his kindness and great professionalism.
I begin with the fifteen year old, released in 2020, which like its younger sibling is the result of ageing in American and European wood casks made to measure for the distillery and sent to Jerez to be seasoned with sherry for about a year and a half, then brought back to Scotland for maturation.
Tasting notes
The nose unleashes the whole sherry bouquet (Oloroso?) in an elegant way, playing between the excesses and softness of ageing that weave acidulous (currants, blueberries, sultanas), rough (leather, pencil shavings) and sweet notes (baked apple, ripe cherry, dried figs, crème brûlée) into an overall fresh and captivating tapestry with the spicy side of cinnamon and nutmeg acting as a texture. Along the length, a buttery chocolate background appears.
On the palate, it raises the spice tones at the opening (adding pepper and ginger), bringing the freshness of red fruits to the fore, accompanied by candied orange peel, cherries in spirit, trifle, hazelnuts and a slight inflection of crème brûlée. Puffs of dark chocolate. Lighter body than the nose would suggest, tending towards astringency with bitter background notes, like red wine.
The finish is quite long and very dry, spicy, of red fruits, hazelnuts, wood.
A clear step forward compared to the 12-year-old, more structured and richer, although the alcohol content (and perhaps also the chillfiltration) takes away substance from the palate, which is flatter than the elegance of the olfactory aromas.