Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 44.2%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex Sherry first fill and refill
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: No
Owner: Edrington Group
Average price: € 300.00
Official website: www.themacallan.com
Travel retail version of the 2024 edition of The Macallan series, arrived at its fifth incarnation in 2025, showcasing the narrative element in association with Cirque du Soleil illustrated in the piece on Vibrant Oak from some time ago.
Maturation, as always, takes place entirely in ex-sherry casks between first filli and… so on, of course all seasoned as is now the tradition of the distillery, and just as obviously available even outside the airport circuit at rather significant prices.
Tasting Notes
Initially a bit closed on the nose, but soon, alongside the usual sherried bouquet of red fruits, nutmeg, cinnamon, and nuts (almonds, pine nuts), it reveals softer, warmer, and enveloping aspects of roasted chestnuts, cocoa, coffee beans, pipe tobacco, and scones. A fresh and vegetal vein runs through the aromas, adding depth to an attractive and elegant nose.
In mouth, the music changes, the liquid loses substance and body, giving way to spices (nutmeg, black pepper, ginger) and the acidity of red fruits. Less warmth and more angularity, the tannins run free across the palate with evocations of coffee, cocoa, licorice root, and sugar paste, with the dryness of wood closing the circle.
Finale quite long and dry, with spices, tannins, tart red fruits, hints of cocoa and coffee.
Review: The nose on the glass presaged a completely different conclusion, with shattered dreams by the usual insubstantiality of these contemporary NAS, all the same and ethereal. On to the next one.
Vote: 78/100