The Kemp family retained control of Macallan until 1994 when it was sold to a consortium of the Japanese Suntory Group and the Highland Distillers Group. The distillery changed ownership a number of times during its early days and stability came only when Roderick Kemp took control in 1892 under Kemp the distillery was renamed Macallan-Glenlivet. At the time it was named Elchies distillery after a nearby estate. The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid and was operated from the original buildings of Macallan farm. What you need to ask yourself is coughing up the serious amount of $$$ worth it.
As a consumer we drive production so we can chose to buy or not to buy.
In my opinion much of the criticism is undeserved as they are doing what any business would do to maximize profit.
#MACALLAN WHISKEY 18 PRICE SERIES#
Macallan has been getting quite o bit of criticism for developing No Age Statement (NAS) 1824 Series of releases in order to keep up the the ever increasing demand for their high quality product., and they produce a lot. Score 95/100.Įlegant, $$$, delicious, vanilla, milk chocolate, oak, honey Later on fig jam and milk chocolate linger to the finish. The amber spirit is as smooth as expected, with a growing, warm, caramel flavour a touch of sweet honey, dark chocolate and espresso. The scents of the seemingly perfectly aged oak and vanilla step forward. The nose foreshadows the whips of sweet toffee and chocolate notes that are to come. This bottle was distilled in 1996 at 43% ABV.
This spirit has been the staple of all luxury hotel bars, upscale dining establishments and corporate elites. This Speyside single malt is matured in Sherry oak casks from Jerez, Spain, for a minimum of 18 years. (unless it is a poorly handled bar sample) I would be shocked it if disappointed you. 7 "blind".Īs for Sonnalta PX, yes, indeed, that is one very well-made whisky.ĭo see if you can get yourself a taste of Balvenie 17 yo Doublewood. I have had delicious Jack Daniel's Old No.7 too, but I'd probably sooner jump off a bridge than buy a bottle of JD Old No. In cases like that I want to be drinking a sample at the shop from the same batch before considering the purchase of a bottle. The point which is important to me is that I cannot recommend a whisky in which the risk of getting a "meh" batch seems to me to be high. I have had some since then which was a lot better. In those days lots of people were on record for liking 12 Doublewood, and considering it to their 'reliable' "go-to" whisky. I was a bit of a voice crying out in the wilderness on Connor several years ago when I went on record in reviewing a 12 Doublewood which I didn't like. A delicious lowland whisky! As for the release, I really don't know what it was exactly, BlueNote, I generally do not recommend either Balvenie 12 Doublewood or Macallan 12 because of their batch variability. Also, I then tasted Auchentoshan Valinch in the same bar and I was very happy with the way it showed itself. Glenfarclas 15 beats this one any day, if you ask me. And in terms of what you pay for it - it IS, in my opinion, a rip off. It's got a nice nose, it's got a nice approachable body, but the finish is nowhere to be found. I also gave it a lot of time with just a drop of water, but it failed to open up in any way. And the bottle I sampled from was almost 1/3 empty so it had plenty of time to breathe. And there were minimum distractions as well: no load music, very few people around, etc. The whisky bar where I tasted this one had a very good storage system. However, specialized whisky bars are a good option to get first impressions before buying. Paddockjudge I absolutely agree with you! Of course, you can't really be too objective when sampling whiskies in bars.