Macallan Edition No. 4

Review by: The Muskox

These Macallan Editions have been fairly well-received, so I was excited to try this new one. Rather than bringing in a guest nose like they did for the last two editions, this version is crafted solely by the master distillery, using a variety of sherry casks which are listed for us on the bottle in the most confusing way possible.

Distillery: Macallan.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 48.4%.

Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2018.

Cask type: A variety of first- and second-fill sherry-seasoned casks from various bodegas, namely:

  • 1st fill American oak Vasyma hogsheads
  • 1st fill European oak Diego Martin Rosado butts
  • 1st fill European oak Jose y Miguel Martin butts
  • 1st fill European oak Tevasa butts, hogsheads, and puncheons
  • 2nd fill European and American oak butts and hogsheads

Price: $180 CAD.

Color: Rich amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Robust sherry. Lots of sweet, gummy dried fruit, plum, raisin, banana, honey, and toffee. Freshly-varnished hardwood, buttered toast, and espresso. The slightest hint of a balsamic note.

A couple drops of water brought out buttery graham crackers, red licorice, and anise.

Palate: Heavy, sticky texture. Fairly closed at first. Dark dried fruit, getting mustier and darker as it develops. Plenty of dark chocolate, with oak, clove, cherry, ginger, and vanilla. Oh hold on, it’s Dr. Pepper!

The water helps the sherry blossom a bit more. Now the arrival has blood orange, developing into woody spice notes of nutmeg, some cinnamon, and more clove. Just a touch of black pepper spice. More of a mature development. A rich tobacco note starts to emerge, as well as some leather and coffee.

Finish: Oaky-spicy, turning toffee-sweet. Vanilla, ginger, more dark chocolate, and plum.

The water brought out that toffee note right in the end. A little bit of a honey sour note right at the end.

Conclusion: Pretty good. I’m not a big Macallan fan, and I was very pleased drinking this. The sherry is nice, and the water really helped bring everything together. If you happen to be a Macallan fan, you’ll probably really dig this. For me, it’s simply very good. For my palate, better than Edition No. 3, but not as good as Edition No. 2.

Final Score: 83.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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