The Macallan is probably the most famous name of Speyside. Most of that fame is based on the older (sherried) bottlings like the yearly Macallan 18 years old. This Macallan 25yo can be seen as its older brother and used to be the oldest official bottling at the time.
Macallan 25yo 1968 ‘Anniversary Malt’ (43%, OB 1994)
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