Review by: Raygun
There’s no need to repeat the reasons for the current distaste among many hobbyists for Macallan. What I don’t believe anyone’s ever said, though, is that they can’t make good whisky. Independent bottlings are getting scarce these days and aren’t cheap when they do turn up. This represents an unusual (for me) opportunity to taste Macallan as we nerds prefer: cask strength and without chill-filtration (I believe the OBs aren’t colored either). Macallan 10 CS remains an all-timer for me. Intrigued by these. Rested about 15 minutes. Reviewed from samples provided by Whiskery Turnip.
24.147 Red wine and cola sangria spritzer
Distillery: Macallan
Bottler: SMWS
Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch
ABV: 63.3%
Age: 12 years. Distilled October 13, 2008; no bottling date.
Cask type: 10 years in an oloroso butt followed by 2 years in a first-fill American oak PX hogshead. 336 bottles.
Color: 1.7 burnt umber. Natural olor. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Looked close to cola and smells like it, too. Besides the cola, raisins, blueberries, dried cranberries, maraschino cherries. A rather strange fruit salad. Hints of old leather.
Palate: Rich and sweet; the PX is doing a lot of the talking here. Date syrup, maraschino cherries, blueberries, molasses. Not as hot as I’d expected. Closer observation reveals some spice flavor as well, clove in particular. Tamarind chutney. Water develops the spice character, but doesn’t dial down the intensity much if at all.
Finish: Does tamarind cola exist? It would taste close to this. Cherries, blueberries, and a touch of tobacco leaf. Again surprisingly easy to drink even at full strength. Sweet, but an herbal character too. Sandalwood. Long and lingering, as one would expect.
24.162
Distillery: Macallan
Bottler: SMWS
Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch
ABV: 62.6%
Age: 13 years. Also distilled on October 13, 2008; no bottling date.
Cask type: 10 years in an oloroso butt followed by 3 years in a first-fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. 336 bottles.
Color: 1.9 brown sherry. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Dark chocolate, leather, old wood. Some dried fig and cherry. This has that wood-paneled room with leather furniture feel. Austere and musty. Does have a strong alcohol smell.
Palate: Very powerful again. Lacking the sweetness of 147, which makes sense since it was finished in another oloroso cask. Can definitely taste the spice of the Spanish oak. Chocolate too, leaning toward mole. Toasted almonds, apricots, cumin, figs. Raspberry sauce.
Finish: Yup, that’s mole sauce, of a mild sort. Definitely some cinnamon in there. Chocolate moves toward mocha. More oak flavor. Assam tea. Raspberry sauce again, like drizzled over a chocolate cake. I feel the ABV more on this one even though it’s a little lower. Very tannic.
Conclusion: Side by side comparison is often helpful, but in this case I’m not sure it was. These are pretty overwhelming–in terms of flavor even more than alcohol (though that too). I found two ounces of these a lot to get through. SMWS has a whole series of these from the same distillation date at Macallan. I didn’t check every single one, but it looks like 24.146-168 are all from that same date, 12-13 years old. I’m speculating they purchased a set of butts, matured them for 10 years, and then split them into different hogsheads for finishing. It’s an interesting approach. The quality is there, though I don’t go for these huge sherry bombs much these days: I favor things a little more subtle now. These are very good for that style; just not what I reach for often. Normally I prefer oloroso, but in this particular instance the finish on the PX was the difference.
Buy a bottle? I don’t think so. Not something I’d reach for often if I had a bottle.
Score:
24.147: 86
24.162: 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. (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Stagg Jr batch 12)
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (new))
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Pikesville Rye)
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Wild Turkey 101)
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Maker’s Mark)
- 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Grandad 114)
- 0-49: Blech. (High West Yippee-ki-yay)
Malt Runners 
