Macallan tasting by Gordon Coxhill

Colour: Dark caramel – providing a strong hint of the ‘bigness’ to come.

 

Nose: A nose-filling melange of sweet toffee and toasted grains with just a hint of smoke.

 

Palate: A gloriously rich, archetypal Macallan….and then some. The fat, oaty smokiness is balanced by a touch of background sweetness that provides a deeply satisfying, fully-rounded complexity.

 

Finish: Long and smooth, with subtle dark chocolate notes.

 

Gordon’s verdict: If there was ever a feeling that vatted malts were secondary whiskies, this offering should dispel that view for ever. This is a superb, flavour-packed dram that conjures up the lone stag on the hill, the piper on the castle wall, the ghillie casting his line over the silk-smooth pool in search of the elusive salmon.