“Speyside” Macallan 30 Year Kingsbury’s Special Anniversary

Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: Macallan.

Bottler: Kingsbury Wine and Spirit.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 30 Year. Distilled in 1989.

ABV: 54.1%. Cask Strength.

Cask Type: Sherry butt.

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

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Nose: There’s a ton of sherry here, very much in line with other old sherry whiskies I’ve had that have shown off a lot of sherry. Dried fruit notes are also quite prominent with golden raisins, dried apricots, and dried peaches in abundance.

Palate: It is a little prickly at first but very flavorful and tasty. You do get sherry but it plays second fiddle to a very dominant milk chocolate note. Golden raisins appear again. Adding a bit of water, the prickle goes away as do the fruitier notes. What you’re left with is a confectioners dream. The milk chocolate note from before sticks around in a very silky form. It’s like those chocolates where you blink and suddenly you’ve eaten a whole box and you’re left wondering what exactly you’ve just done. Some rich caramel comes to join in, the caramel also leaves a very silky feeling. There’s a bit of malted milk puffs as well, my mind went to the world’s most luxurious version of Whoppers or Maltesers.

Finish: While it isn’t short, I’d probably describe it as medium-long in length, my notes say “not long enough”. Loads of chocolate again along with some notes of rice krispies.

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Conclusion: I haven’t had a much of old Macallan, to date I’ve only reviewed an old Speymalt, so I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into with this one. Was I going to get another straightforward sherry bomb or is there something else to expect here? The nose on this one did get me a bit excited, while there sherry notes were very much at the forefront, there was plenty of depth there as well with all of those dried fruit notes. The palate though, especially with some water, really takes you to a completely different place, a land flowing of chocolate and caramel. This might really be a chocolate lover’s dream, I don’t think I’ve had any whisky where the chocolate notes were so prominent, silky, and luxurious. Absolutely delicious.

Rating: 93.

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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.