Five Macallan for International Whisky Day


March 27, 2023

Happy International Whisk(e)y Day!

(The original Whisky Day. No one ever tried to make any money from this one!)

Today, let's raise a glass to Michael Jackson and please help fight Parkinson's Disease!

Indeed, International Whisky Day is historically the first ever of such days and certainly the only un-commercial one. It's always remained very low-key since its first online inception in 2008 (based on an idea by our friend Hans Offringa and done here on WF without fanfare) and then its first event 'in the flesh' that took place in the Netherlands in 2009. International Whisky Day simply celebrates the life of whisky writer extraordinaire Michael Jackson (1942-2007), who was born on this very day, March 27.

So, this year again, at Whiskyfun we thought a good way of paying tribute to 'Emjay' would have been to try whiskies from his favourite Distillery, which was Macallan (that used to show in some of his scores!) Especially one of the rarest of them all, the Macallan 50 years old 1928 'Anniversary Malt', which I had never tried before. I've just checked my 2004 copy of Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion (the 5th edition) and couldn't find his comments and score for that old glory, but I've noticed that he had scored the record-breaking (£1.5Mio, 2019, Sotheby's) Macallan 60 yo 1926/1986 'Fine & Rare'… 80 points, while commenting that it was 'dominated by the wood'. Gulp and gasp, to think that there is some of that 1926 in 'our' 1928… As for old malts whiskies in general, the great writer had also noticed that 'given that most whiskies do peak a decade or two earlier, it is not reasonable to expect the performance of malts in their 30s, 40s, or 50s to be of the very best'. So, while I'm not sure I'd fully agree with him (but who am I) I say enough with silly pricings for just any old juices!

I would add that what Emjay really liked in Macallan was certainly the result of the Distillery's original set-up from WWII and onwards (Golden Promise barley, several yeasts not just one, direct firing and first-fill sherry butts, first seasoned with musto, sometimes paxarette, then oloroso…) Besides, I don't remember having heard or read what he used to think of the first 'Fine Oaks', there's none of those in his 2004 Companion either. But he sure would have liked the fact that owners Edrington just bought 50% of Sherry makers Grupo Estevez (think Valdespino).

But good, let us proceed now, with two recent official NAS, perhaps one undisclosed indie (there are several running about), one brand new disclosed indie, and then that famous and now incredibly pricey 50/1928.

Five Macallan for International Whisk(e)y Day and for Michael Jackson

Macallan 'A Night On Earth In Scotland' (43%, OB, released for Hogmanay 2022)

It seems that this rather expensive NAS was mainly matured in American oak, including bourbon barrels. I would dare to say that I really like the name of this expression, which reminds me a bit of François Truffaut, don't ask me why. There had already been a 'Night on Earth' in late 2021 but I never tasted it. Colour: gold. Nose: it reminds me a bit of the early Fine Oaks, with a rather simple but nicely floral and fruity nose. I find a lot of jasmine and orange blossom, maybe even rose petals, then simply apple and pear juice, vanilla, honeysuckle, acacia honey, and then a plum tart sprinkled with cinnamon. As it should be! Nice nose. Mouth: a light and quite elegant Macallan, rather close to a Balvenie we will say, with vanilla, tarte tatin, quince cake, ripe mirabelles, and barley sugar. I find it very consensual and certainly far from the 'historic' Macallans. Perhaps there is a bit of sherry in it, but it is very discreet. Some sultanas, perhaps. Finish: rather short but fresh and playful, fruity, mainly on apple pie. A light honey is back on the retro-olfaction. Comments: nothing to say, it's good! No comments on the prices, which make absolutely no sense (but you said no comments!)
SGP:541 - 85 points.

The next one should be weirder...

Macallan 'Inspired by Intense Arabica' (44%, OB, Harmony Collection, 2022)

No age statement once more. I have one question, how could a whisky be inspired by some coffee? I would understand if it had been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, or by Johann Sebastian Bach, John Coltrane or Jimi Hendrix, or by a great chef, or by a famous philosopher, or by Boris Johnson (just kidding). But by coffee? Or did they simply try to somehow copy the aroma profile of coffee? Let's see, shall we... Colour: deep gold. Nose: it's the sherry that comes through first, in the amontillado style perhaps, then we have burnt wood, lots of cocoa, plenty of toffee, some hints of cloves, black nougat, and... Turkish coffee! With its grounds and all that. Behind it all, apple pie once again, and even more chocolate. Mouth: it's good, it's a bit like the 'Night' but with more oxidative sherry, walnut stain, dark chocolate and toffee, but the whole remains dry and even slightly drying, with quite a lot of over-infused black tea, which gives it a tannic aspect. Finish: not very long but really dry. A bit of wood smoke and even more black tea, straight from the samovar. The sherry is back on the retro-olfaction, with a bit of marmalade. Comments: not bad at all but probably not Bach, Coltrane or Hendrix, after all. I preferred the freshness of the 'Night'.
SGP:451 - 84 points.

Let's move on to the independent bottlers, one being secret, the other 'revealed'. We shall start with the secret one...

Speyside Blended Malt 30 yo 1992/2022 (51.6%, Liquid Treasures for The Antelope Macau, refill butt, 520 bottles)

No last-minute tampering with this baby, it seems to have spent its entire life in a traditional way, in its second-fill butt. And it was a little bird that confided to me that it could well be a Macallan, a little bird that seemed to have all its wits about it but who, of course, could still be mistaken. And I believe, if I'm not mistaken myself, that this is the first time I've tasted a spirit bottled exclusively for Macau... Colour: gold. Nose: very fresh and fruity at the beginning, complex and aromatic, with a lot of elegance and a sherry that has managed to remain discreet. I find a lot of quince and mirabelle plums, juicy sultanas, a little camphor and menthol (thanks to the long years in the cask!), then some simpler things, such as hay and apples, for example. Maybe not exactly an endurance runner after all, but still very nice. With water: apple and plum juice, with a little cinnamon. Mouth (neat): a lot of apple compote, fruit jelly (surprising at 30 years), ripe plums, oranges, with a touch of chalk and always quince. The years don't show, I imagine that the honourable butt hadn't been filled only once before. With water: barley and agave syrup, and even more apple and quince compote. Finish: not extremely long but nicely herbaceous and fruity. Hay wine, an excellent drink that our Vosges neighbours prepare when they have nothing else to do. Comments: really in the style of several other blended malts of the same origin that I have tasted before, but I cannot formally confirm what the little bird whispered in my ear. Greatly excellent but maybe not totally grandiose, and vice versa.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

And now, a real first-fill by Signatory Vintage, brand new and beautiful...

Macallan 25 yo 1997/2023 'Symington's Choice' (55%, Signatory Vintage, 1st Fill Oloroso butt, cask #12/4, 660 bottles, 2023)

The whisky is almost as dark as the label! Here is a brand new range from Signatory, very high-end, with some pretty extraordinary names like Laphroaig, Bowmore, and indeed, Macallan. The prices seem high, but I'm sure it's worth it and not just marketing hype. At least it's not another NAS with a fancy name and story, straight from ChatGPT or Wikipedia. Colour: coffee. Nose: a pretty wonderful dry sherry, full of Havana tobacco, prunes, dried dates, old walnuts, and hoisin sauce, with an extraordinary fermentary and even slightly acetic side (old balsamic vinegar). We're a bit in the territory of a very old Ténarèze, or of the best of the Macallan 'Gran Reserva' from back in the day. With water: it becomes rather more elegant, almost slightly austere, with a very "grand chocolate from a great house" side. I always find it amusing to hear my Swiss, Belgian, Italian, Spanish or French friends claim that they make the best chocolates in the world. What if it were the Scots, perhaps even Scots from Pitlochry? Mouth (neat): creamy, goes down easily! Well, almost, there's still a lot of thickness, a syrupy texture, liquorice and pipe tobacco, a bit of tar, lots of dried prunes, Corinth raisins, precious molasses (if it existed), then peppermint and very chocolatey toffee... With water: it peacocks and goes fractal, with lots of spices, dried fruits, organic matter, and various old liqueurs. Alright, let's finish it, we don't have all day... Finish: long as a day without bread and indeed, rather on very damp pumpernickel, chocolate, and competition fruitcake (we have the winner). Comments: a real hit, after Signatory's sublime range of '30th Anniversary Bottlings' of three or five years ago. Come on, let's store it in its bottle for twenty more years to try to reach 95/100, then we'll talk about it again. What's sure is that this is Macallan as in 'Macallan', that is to say In compliance with what is written on the label of the bottle that follows...
SGP:661 - 93 points.

Oops, I think I trapped myself, the next one might suffer a bit due to the strength difference. So let's wait for a good twenty minutes...
Here we are, back again...

Macallan 50 yo 'Anniversary Malt' (77°proof US, OB, Berman Imports Los Angeles, twist cap, 500 bottles, 750ml)

Macallan 50 yo 1926-1928/1983 'Anniversary Malt' (77°proof US, OB, Berman Imports Los Angeles, twist cap, 500 bottles, 750ml)

£50.00 back in 1983. Provenance is impeccable. The lovely blurb on the label is the same as that of the more common 25 yos Anniversary, including the reference to 1982's Gold Medal in Madrid and the promise of 'one of life's few genuinely incomparable experiences'. Globally, what they wrote at that time goes to prove that brands may change their minds over time. This label for the USA is different from the European version but the bottles are the same. First, as it really went under-underproof, which was still legal in the UK (the limit was at 65°proof UK, so 37.15% vol.), the American label is bearing the mention 'DILUTED Scotch Whisky', which is probably technically wrong as I doubt anyone's ever added any water to this old glory.

By the way the strength of the European version if of 38.6% vol., so indeed 77°proof US (actually 77.2°proof). What would I add, well, other aspects are delightfully weird here, such as the age statement, which is '50 years old' instead of 'over 50 years old' on the UK version. Indeed this is actually a vatting of three casks, two from 1928 and one from 1926, not a 'single vintage', so it is technically rather 54 or 55 years old, as it was bottled in 1983. As a matter of fact, the label for the USA does not actually mention any vintage. The labelling rules in America were really different from the European ones in 1983, as it seems! But let's try this glory now, if you agree...

Rare example of an old label for some Scotch whisky bottled at 65° proof UK (from Ainslie's label book, Diageo Archive)

Colour: dark red amber. Nose: Here we are immediately transported back in time, to old libraries, damp cellars, dusty attics, antique shops, traditional grocers, and the fracas of time... There are many old papers but also a tremendous amount of very, very ripe citrus, especially oranges. There is an old Italian vermouth side (our Italian friends will tell us that all vermouths are Italian, but really not sure about that), I am thinking for example of the 'Montenegro' that I rather like, even if it is far too sweet. In short, this old Macallan is almost an antique orange liqueur at this point. In the background, we will find an avalanche of dried fruits, especially dates, but also a quite incredible freshness. The low ABV is not even noticeable on the nose; In truth, I am thinking of a very old bottle of Bénédictine, we are a little in that universe. Maybe also a little old mead. I love it, of course, obviously, unquestionably... Mouth: Oh! The most wonderful old dust of all old dusts, fantastic old nuts, cocoa powder, and above all a lot of very old wines, from Burgundy to Bordeaux and back, with mushrooms, a little pepper, piperade, a lot of old waxes, a lot of old honeys (did you know that honey is the organic matter that best preserves and is even quasi-eternal?)... All this tends to become philosophical, we simply leave the territory of simple organoleptic analysis, a bit like when we taste a wine from the late 19th or early 20th century. Between us, it almost tastes like a very old Margaux, but shhh... Finish: Not very long of course, but soft and fruity again, with a return of these ripe citrus that we found on the nose. However, the old Margaux returns in the aftertaste, together with a slightly dusty cocoa, and old woods of all kinds. I thought I would find a bit of smoke at this stage, but I find none. Who cares. Comments: None. For what purpose? Wondering about the value of this wee whisky in hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling? Boring question. Cheers Michael Jackson! Happy International Whisky Day!
SGP: 341 - 93 (vulgar) points.

PS: If slightly overdone Celtic flutes do not bother you too much, I would advise you watch this lovely little 8-min movie by The Macallan.

(And grazzie mille, caro Diego!)

Check the index of all Macallan we've tasted so far