Macallan 12 yo ‘HKDNP’ (43%, OB 1980’s, 1 litre)

Nose: not as fresh as I had hoped. There are big notes of mothballs (naphtalene) that are very hard to get over. Musty and stale with traces of mushrooms and sulphur. Let’s wait for another half hour and try again…

Nose: better now, but really old-style (probably still coal-fired?). Notes of red fruits, some raisins. A little tar and ashes. Coffee. Overall quite fat. Slightly disappointing
(I had heard a lot about this Macallan) but interesting as an antiquity. Mouth: much better. Very creamy with hints of leather and nice fruits with crystallized oranges and prunes. Sherried but not too much. Sultanas. Cinnamon. A little praline. Kind of an artificial sugary aftertaste. A smoky / ashy hint as well. Finish: medium length, on cherry candy and orange marmalade.

The nose was a bit difficult to appreciate but the palate is very balanced and truly classic, which for the most part made up for the lower score of the nose. I’m glad I tasted it (Marc Segers had a bottle on offer during the latest whisky festival in Ghent).

Score: 85/100

Macallan 18y 1983 (43%, OB 2001)

Nose: classic sherry maturation. Chocolate, lots of raisins, dry fruit, prunes. Still, the fruitiness and freshness of this Macallan is exceptional. A bit of vanilla and smoked bacon. Some notes of an old cognac. Mouth: as expected, really rich again. Prunes, raisins, oranges, chocolate… Rather sweet and very smooth. A bit of oak. Finish: long aftertaste on chocolate and soft spices (cloves). Getting drier in the end, with more wood influence.

The Macallan 18yo is a must-try for sherry lovers and a benchmark for other sherry bottlings. It may be blasé to say, but it’s also a bit predictive (the huge over-influence of sherry means this is quite close to other sherry bombs such as the much cheaper Aberlour A’Bunadh). Anyway, it surely is a great whisky.

Price: around € 250 for such an old version. Around
€ 100 if you take the recent Macallan 1990/2008.

Score: 89/100

To celebrate, let’s try this Macallan 1955 that was sampled by Luc Timmermans some time ago. It’s one of many versions bottled by Campbell, Hope & King and imported in Italy by Rinaldi. A little bit of history…

You can find similar versions distilled in almost any year between +/- 1947 and 1962, all bottled in the 1960’s and 1970’s at 80° proof (46%). They don’t have an age statement on the bottle but usually the cardboard box states “over 15 years old” (I wouldn’t be surprised though if that were just generic boxes).

A couple of changes happen in 1962: Campbell, Hope & King is closed and Macallan starts bottling / distributing directly, the alcohol volume goes down to 43% and Macallan starts to add a bottling year (e.g. 1964/1982). Although at that time they are already bottled at 18 years, it’s not until the 1967 vintage that they officially put the blue “18 years” ribbon on the box and the (neck) label. A legend is born! With those official 18yo’s, we’re halfway the 1980’s and Rinaldi (taken over in 1983) is replaced by Giovinetti as the new importer for Italy.

In short, this Macallan 1955 is a predecessor of the famous Macallan 18yo’s. It was bottled around 1973 and should be around 18 years old.

Macallan 1955 (80° proof, OB +/- 1973, Campbell Hope & King, Rinaldi import, 75 cl)

Nose: wow. Indeed it’s the legendary combination of luscious sherry and faint phenolic notes. The sherry richness starts with all kinds of dried fruits (mainly figs, sultanas and dates but also quinces and raspberries) and goes to honey and beeswax (quite special, I associate this more with bourbon maturation). There’s also plenty of mint liqueur and eucalyptus, as well as old furniture, old paint, old books, tobacco… All of this covered in a veil of ashes and the softest hints of tar. Balances between sweet and dry notes. Stunning complexity. Mouth: a lot of sherry. Especially the chocolate / coffee combo stands out, as well as jammy fruits, raisins and relatively soft spices and herbs (hints of cough syrup). Leather notes as well as a slightly metallic hint of shoe polish (OBE?). Mint again. Puffs of smoke. Finish: long, fairly dry with dark chocolate and spices.

The mint liqueur, beehive notes and perfect sherry give this a heavenly nose. The palate was more heavily sherried than expected and quite chocolaty – needless to say it’s perfectly faultless sherry. Oh my, what a delight. Hard to find these days and very expensive. All pre-18yo vintages usually fetch between € 1000 and 1500.

Score: 95/100

Macallan 25yo 1968 ‘Anniversary Malt’ (43%, OB 1994)

Nose: nicely sherried. Notes of plums and dried apricots. Some toffee and a wonderful (slightly dusty) smokiness. Hints of peppermint and molasses. Chocolate covered raisins. Balsamic vinegar. Very nice notes of Christmas cake and cinnamon rolls. Smoke pork loin even (“filet de saxe”). Old sherried Speyside, just the way we like it. Very impressive. Mouth: hmm, very silky but a bit weaker too. Chocolate and oranges. Still some hints of smoke. More balsamic vinegar, but becoming quite winey and tannic. Too soft and most flavours disappear quickly, which is a shame. Getting slightly salty towards the finish. Finish: rather short I’m afraid. Not very expressive here and slightly dry in the end.

This Macallan 25yo has a near-perfect nose in a luxurious old sherry style. I expected this to be a 90+ but after the nose it falls short. Long gone of course. Worth around € 500.

Score: 88/100

Macallan 19yo 1990 (50,1%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 2009, cask #8099, 266 btl.)

Nose: not the most expressive nor a very fruity Macallan. Malty start with hints of fresh apples. A bit of vanilla and honey. Mouth: much more punchy now, with hints of sugared almonds and candied pineapple. Banana with cinnamon. Slightly roasted as well, with hints of mocha and chocolate. Finish: drops rather soon. A bit of candy sugar and whiffs of oak.

This one is all right (non-sherry for a change) though probably not the most interesting Macallan. Good on the palate, but the nose and finish are less convincing. Around € 85.

Score: 81/100

Macallan 21 yo 1990  (51,5%, Malts of Scotland 2011, Fino sherry hogshead #1135, 254 btl.)

Nose: again quite aromatic, but drier and flatter and a little less fresh (airing helps). It lacks the sparkling raspberry and juicy fruits (still some apples though). Instead there are plenty of spices and herbs (pepper, nutmeg, aniseed, thyme) as well as some vegetal, earthy and leathery elements. Faint meaty notes (oxo). Some hay. Less classic I would say. Mouth: the roasted notes are more prominent here, they even suggest plain smoke. More oak as well. Heather. Again lots of spices, with bags of pepper and nutmeg. Bitter notes towards the end. Finish: medium long, dry and spicy, with hints of bitter chocolate.

This one is less to my liking, as it plays the card of pepper and dry herbs without having the juicy fruitiness to balance it. Around € 120.

Score: 81/100

Macallan 21 yo 1990 (49,1%,
Malts of Scotland 2011, Oloroso sherry hogshead #1134, 184 btl.)

Nose: very aromatic, nicely sweet and balanced with the sherry. Apples and stewed fruits. Caramel. Rum & raisins, raspberry liqueur. Still some of the original malt underneath the sherry. A fine layer of fresh herbs. Tiny bits of menthol. All of this rounded by some polished oak. Very nice. Mouth: sets off with plenty of bittersweet spices and herbs. Quite peppery and gingery. Roasted nuts. Liquorice and coffee. Some oak. With all this bitterness and herbalness, it takes a while before the dried fruits are noticeable again and it’s never really rounded anyway. Finish: medium long, rather dry with cocoa notes and spices.

I really liked the nose, but on the palate the spicy theme gets a little strong. Let’s find out how it compares to the Fino. Around € 120.

Score: 86/100

Macallan 15 yo 1995 (46%, A.D. Rattray 2011, bourbon cask #11251, 334 btl.)

Nose: caramelized apple with cinnamon. Heather honey. Apple cake. Muesli bars. Nice duality of sticky sweet (almost greasy) butterscotch notes and a more fresh and sour fruitiness. Traces of toasted cereals. Herbs in the background. Nice. Mouth: starts a little soft. Not the amount of sweetness I expected, more like a herbal fruitiness. Cider apples, peaches and citrus. Honey and caramel. Sweet grains. Soft liquorice. Not bad but lacking some punch in the middle. Finish: not too long but nice chocolate notes and hints of Turkish delight. Still some apple flavours.

This Macallan started with an inviting and interestingly different nose, but the palate wasn’t totally convincing. Should be € 50 round.

Score: 83/100

Macallan Fine Oak ‘Whisky Maker’s Selection’’ (42,8%, OB)

Nose: vanilla and peach. Some pineapple and a light hint of coconut. Oak as well. Spicy taste (liquorice), vanilla again, praliné and dry sherry. Less fruity and not overly sweet. Aftertaste on chocolate, apple cake and a little coffee. Nice balance. Good stuff.

Score: 83/100.

The Macallan Fine Oak 30 Years old
(43%, OB 2009)

Nose: very very smooth. Quite aromatic, but a lot maltier and granier than I expected. Oranges. Honeyed and slightly exotic, with a very soft sherry influence. Mouth: again very round, silky and malty. Some apples, peaches, vanilla, and quite some oak as well. Sweet honey. Getting sweeter (caramel) over time. Finish: medium-length on sweet toffee.

The oldest Macallan (in the core range) is really elegant but it lacks a bit of punch. I would have liked a bit more sherry influence as well. At around € 400 maybe not the best price vs. quality.

Score: 84/100

A 39 years old Macallan bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for La Maison du Whisky. Here we go!

Macallan ‘Speymalt’ 1970 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail for LMdW 2010, first fill sherry hogshead #10031)

Nose: (old) Macallan + sherry = magical richness.  Apricot tartlets, prunes and dates. Some fresh red fruits. Mint, cinnamon and hints of sweet ginger. Some heather and fir-tree honey. Dusty books in the background – lovely. Mouth: vivid, with plenty of dry spices (cloves, cardamom). While initially rather rounded, it quickly becomes leathery and a lot oakier. Blackberry liqueur. Some resinous notes. Walnuts and liquorice. Roasted coffee. Very rich. Finish: medium length (only), with forest fruit, resin and spices.

In line with last year’s excellent cask although maybe a tad less sparkling. Not cheap, but acceptable for this age: around € 210. Now sold out.

Score: 90/100

La Maison du Whisky often has exclusive Gordon & MacPhail releases, like the recent Linkwood 1990/2009 for LMdW. They’ve proven to pick some very interesting casks.

Macallan ‘Speymalt’ 1970 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail for LMdW 2009, sherry butt #8326, 530 btl.)

Nose: following the tradition of the great 18yo sherry bottlings. Big on prunes, hints of a chocolate store, blood oranges and tangerine. Raisins, nuts and fig jam but at the same time fresher, younger fruit, like raspberries. Bananas glazed with rum. Heather honey. Very interesting hints of ginger, cumin and other fresh herbs. This was obviously a wonderful cask. Mouth: very elegant and coating. Dried fruits, figs again, baked apples and notes of bergamot tea.Oranges. Strawberries. Hints of natural caramel and smoke. Roasted coffee beans. Some nutmeg and pepper. Finish: light wood influence, slightly drier. Hints of toffee, dried fruits, tobacco and liquorice.

A very noble dram. This Macallan is lively and perfectly balanced. Not too woody for me. Recommended, certainly because the price is acceptable (€ 195).

Score: 91/100