Despite the painful return from vacation, we still need to be pampered. That’s why we start our week with the Macallan 12 years old Sherry Oak. We confess we don’t understand much of the huge core range of Macallan, the poshest Scotch distillery with its new magnificient design (a 140 million Pounds project). But if we are not mistaken, the 12 yo sherry has finally been reintroduced in the Italian market. Glencairn in our hands, let’s taste it for the joy of our twentysix followers.
N: bright and aromatic, it’s really rich. Despite the 40% ABV, the intensity is remarkable. Generous waves of strawberry gelee, candied orange, a nice chinotto. Fresh oak with a vague shadow of vanilla (farewell old casks with those deep notes of wet wood!). It reminds super-sugary food: cherry syrup, Fabbri sour cherries. Overripe figues and sugar crystals.
P: mellow and smooth, it’s more sugary and less compact than expected. A clean sense of “dry” sugar stands out: strawberry Pasticca Leone, sour cherry syrup, wild berries jam. Orange juice and fresh oak chunks. Milk chocolate. It tends to become astringent.
F: clean and sugary again, it’s of average persistence. Apples and cherry syrup.
It’s very sugary and a little too much people-pleasey, actually. The fresh oak is noticeable, the influence on the spirit is really strong. Tecnically is 83/100: we must judge it for what it is, a 12 years old whisky bottled at 40% ABV, an entry level. It’s not particularly complex but it doesn’t show any flaws except the price (more than 80€). Despite what the “world renowned whisky writer” F. Paul Pacult writes, we don’t think this is “simply the best 12 yo on the market”. Certainly, if you want to impress your friends on your yacht moored in front of Anacapri, this Macallan will work.
Recommended soundtrack: Queens of the Stone Age – Millionaire.
