Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 44%ABV
Ageing casks: American and Europeran seasoned in Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: No
Owner: Edrington Group
Average price: € 230.00
Official website: www.themacallan.com
I continue my journey through Macallan’s Harmony collection with the second edition, the first bottling of which was released in the first half of 2022, followed a few months later by the Travel Retail version (Smooth Arabica).
This time, coffee is at the centre of the whisky’s sensory evocations and narrative, including, as always, the box made from processing waste, in this case coffee husks. And it is Ethiopian Arabica coffee that inspired the distillery’s whisky maker, Steven Bremner, to hold a masterclass with the world’s greatest coffee experts at the distillery and to choose the red colour of the packaging to evoke the coffee fruit.
Bremner also suggests pairing with two types of coffee, Harrar and Guji, to bring out the whisky’s sensory qualities.
I, more modestly, limit myself to drinking it on its own.
Tasting Notes
The nose begins with all the mandatory sherry inflections, dominated by the sour notes of red fruits (currants, raspberries, wild strawberries) with sultanas, nutmeg, nuts (hazelnuts, almonds), milk chocolate and, yes, coffee, albeit to a lesser extent. With time, the acidity softens in favour of toffee, butter biscuits, orange jelly and the intensification of coffee, espresso and sweets. Consistent and pleasant.
Light in the mouth (like all these Macallans nowadays), it brings out the spices (black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon) at medium volume, with coffee and chocolate at the forefront (sometimes with a hint of tiramisu), interspersed with red fruits (also candied), hazelnuts and almonds, sultanas, a slight wood note and a hint of alcoholic exuberance.
Not very long finish with raisins in spirit, red fruits, hazelnuts, spices, chocolate and coffee.
You can’t say the name is wrong, but the rest is very little, a rather ephemeral and uninspiring dram that leaves no trace in the memory (but in the bank account).
Vote: 82/100