Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Sherry seasoned American and European oak
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: No
Owner: Edrington Group
Average price: € 200.00
Official website: www.themacallan.com
This is the fifth iteration of this series, which began in 2021, with Macallan choosing an annual theme expressed in two bottlings, one for the general market and one for the retail market.
For 2025, tea has been chosen in collaboration with Jing, a British company that has been producing single-origin tea blends since 2004. This first version features Phoenix Honey Orchid Tea (oolong tea from the Chinese mountain range of the same name), whose spent leaves have been incorporated into the packaging. Maturation took place mainly in American sherry-seasoned casks.
The idea is to share aromas and rituals, finding similarities between the tea ceremony and whisky tasting, as well as a connection with the raw material and the territory.
The travel retail edition, due out in October 2025, will be associated with Cherrywood Lapsang organic tea.
Taating Notes
After an initial slight alcoholic sting, the nose reveals the obligatory signs of maturation: red fruits (currants, raspberries, wild strawberries), pink grapefruit, maraschino, nutmeg and black pepper. A background of Rossana sweets, dark chocolate, coffee mousse and hazelnuts. Nothing new on the western front, young and pleasant.
On the palate, the spices come through, with black pepper, ginger, nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon, driven by a rather lively alcohol content. It echoes the nose, giving more space to cocoa and coffee, with hints of nuts (hazelnut, almond) and malt biscuits. A metallic note appears in the finish.
The finish is rather short, with red fruits, spices, coffee, nuts and malt.
Review: Flat and impersonal like many other contemporary Macallans, it could easily be any of the other bottlings in the series, so versatile is it in pairing with the evocations mentioned above. Forgettable.
Vote: 78/100