Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Sherry seasoned
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: No
Owner: Edrington Group
Average price: € 230.00
Official website: www.themacallan.com
After the one for the ‘general’ market, here is the travel-retail version of The Macallan associated with coffee, released at the end of 2022 and inspired by the Arabica quality from Ethiopia.
The same story, a different colour for the label (this time the green of the unroasted beans) and a tasting ritual to match the coffee.
Hope Bremner won’t be disappointed if I drink it on its own…
Tasting Notes
The nose offers exactly what you would expect, including red fruits (currants, sour cherries, wild strawberries), sultanas, cooked plums, blood orange, spices (nutmeg, cinnamon) and nuts (macadamia, pecans, almonds). Time dilutes the more acidic notes, bringing warmth (cocoa, coffee candy) and freshness (crisp apple, tobacco leaves) to the surface, with a slight mineral vein in the background. Loveable without excellence.
The coffee is clearly present on the first sip, with a dusting of cocoa, and remains the primary impression throughout the rest of the evocations, which almost slavishly repeat the theme of the nose. A spicy note emerges, between chilli and black pepper, quickly turning bitter, with the vegetal part rapidly increasing. Ethereal body.
The aftertaste is quite short, with notes of coffee, cocoa, nuts, nutmeg, orange peel and baked apple.
You can’t say it’s not on point, but otherwise it offers nothing different from the distillery’s ‘usual’ contemporary NAS, quickly fading into oblivion.
Vote: 80/100