Indie Macallan: 12 Year (2011) Signatory Vintage Batch #11, 15 Year (2009) Signatory Vintage Batch #19, 21 Year (2000) Speymalt Gordon & MacPhail

Review by: The Muskox

Here are a pile of drams from a recent tasting with friends. At first, we were going to compare the 2011 Signatory bottling to the 2009, which I had tried and enjoyed last year in Scotland. Then I realized that I had tried a differenct batch of 2009 Signatory Vintage Macallan… Okay, I can write one more set of notes. Then, my friend pulls out the Speymalt, because if we’re Macallaning, we might as well go all out. Alright, three sets of notes. Maybe a little briefer than usual.

Bottle #1

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

ABV: 46.2%.

Age: 12 years. Distilled in 2011. Bottled in 2024.

Cask type: Oloroso sherry casks.

Nose: Oh! Sulfur! I’m slightly sensitive to it, but I’d say this is a medium-strong sulfur. Smashed rocks. Still, there’s a malt under here. Browned (burnt?) butter and rum-raisin ice cream.  

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Aaaaand, more sulfur, along with incredible nuttiness. I tried mala-spiced peanuts from a Chinese grocery last month, and this straight-up tastes like those. Rich flavours of dates and dark chocolate as well.

Finish: Medium, with the sulfur hanging on. Grilled asparagus. More nuts and dark chocolate.

Bottle #2

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

ABV: 48.2%.

Age: 15 years. Distilled in 2009. Bottled in 2025.

Cask type: First- and second-fill Oloroso sherry butts.

Nose: Clean, rich sherry with good depth. Cola, dates, and brown sugar.

Palate: Medium texture. Rich and buttery. Chocolate chip cookies. Layered spices. More cola.

Finish: Medium-long, sherryish, distinctly rich and sweet. Strawberry jam.

Bottle #3

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail.

ABV: 55.5%. Cask Strength.

Age: 21 years. Distilled in 2000. Bottled July 12th 2021.

Cask type: Cask #1763, a first-fill sherry hogshead.

Nose: Nearly identical to the 15 next to it. A little bit creamier, a little bit spicier, more toward the oak side than the raisins, but probably 95% the same.

Palate: Medium texture. Very similar again to the 15, but drier here, with some lighter fruit notes (peach) and a little more complexity. Oak and balsamic. Distinctly smoky here, no idea where that’s coming from.

Finish: Medium-long. Char and smoke linger, complementing the spice and burnt sugar notes.

Conclusions: I’m going to rate these whiskies a lot more closely than you may have guessed from my notes. The sulfured 2011 has enough going on that the sulfur can support the other flavours instead of completely overwhelming them. The 2009 is classic rich Macallan, very similar to that Batch #18 I tried in Scotland. See that Batch #18 review if you want more notes. Its lower score compared to that bottling is pretty much just from the different contexts for tasting them, i.e. alone at a bar taking my time vs. during a huge tasting with friends. The 2000 Speymalt is the best of the three, especially with its excellent smoky notes, but it shockingly similar to the 2009. Overall, three more reasons to make you sad that Macallan doesn’t know how to bottle their own whisky.

Final Scores:

2011 Signatory Vintage: 80

2009 Signatory Vintage: 85

2000 Gordon & MacPhail: 87

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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