Macallan 14 Year (2007) SMWS Distillery 24 Rare Release “Massive oak extraction”

Review by: The Muskox

Here it is – independently-bottled Macallan, matured in sherry, bottled at (a ludicrous) cask strength. This should be it, right? This should be a real taste of the spirit that has made Macallan so famous? …Well, I think that spirit was mostly produced in the 50s and 60s, but anyways. This is as close as I can get/afford.

Distillery: Macallan.

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 63%. Cask strength.

Age: 14 years. Distilled September 26th 2007. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Spanish and American oak casks, both refill hogsheads and first-fill butts.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 1.6, Mahogany, henna notes. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Dense spice. Strong spicy oak, as the name suggests. Crushed cloves, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, vanilla beans. Red bean pancake and sweet paprika. Red velvet cupcakes, dutch cocoa, chocolate-covered strawberries. Some brown-sugar funk, and slightly tart.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Some heat, no surprise, but not loads. Arrives with bright and sweet-tart with blood orange and deeper notes of dutch cocoa. Strong oak and on the development, as well as citrus turning more bittersweet. Jaffa Cakes, cigar box, smores with charred marshmallows. Orange and grapefruit peels.

Finish:

Lots of fragrant oak spice. Woodshop, but sweet hardwoods rather than anything sickly and green. Cherry, dates, birch beer, chocolate lava cake, and aged balsamic.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Professor Plum, in the library, with a sharpened grandfather clock”

Conclusion: I don’t think I can do much better than the SMWS’s name. This is so not my kind of whisky, but I can’t deny that it’s great. The oak is pretty huge, but it has a depth and a fragrance to it with those cigar box notes, rather than just being bitter and astringent. It’s not even too hot with that bonkers strength.

Final Score: 86.

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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