When I started in retail, there were two core Macallan single malts: the 12 years and the 18 years.
The 12-year was available in a red box, the 18 in a purple one. We offered tons of both.
Every once in a while, we would generate the Great Oak Series: 15 years of age and a 17 year of age version that can be found in pastel-tinted boxes. We sold fewer of those.
It was a basic time. Whatever had an age statement.
Individuals used the number to assign their needs. “Mac 12, please,” they would certainly claim. I would order the bottle. They would pay. There wasn’t much else to go over.
In 2020, nevertheless, a lot has changed. Macallan edition complete set has come to be a luxury juggernaut. It has replaced Glenlivet and Glenfiddich as the most recognized solitary malt Scotch in the world and rare editions that can cost public auction for seven numbers per container.
Therefore, the brand name has blown up into many new versions, increasing its reach, and the whisky account has a result.
There are three different Macallan 12-year-old labels now and three different 18 year of age expressions. There are likewise several NAS (no age statement) versions with names like Gold, Estate, and Unusual Barrel.
Seeing that it’s been a few years given that I have tasted the core profile, let alone all the new offerings, I believed I’d break down the mass of Macallan’s 2020 choices as well as re-familiarize myself with the market’s most coveted brand name while producing an overview for Mission shoppers in the process.
It’s extremely easy to be overwhelmed simply by the sheer number of Macallan tags on the shelf at Mission, not to mention the countless other whiskies. Let’s have a look at the core expressions:
Macallan 12-Year-Old Sherry Oak
The Macallan 12-Year-Old Sherry Oak is what we utilized to know simply as Macallan 12, albeit it currently can be found in a black box instead of a red one.
Whereas other Sherry-matured whiskies like Balvenie 12 and Aber lour 12 are usually completed for a couple of years in Sherry barrels, the Macallan 12 Sherry Oak invests the whole 12 years in Sherry, offering it a denser, a lot more flexible texture.
This whisky starts mildly sulfurous before moving into fudge and cacao, as with coffee bean notes. I constantly remembered this being rather pleasant. However, this brand-new Sherry Oak is more like dark chocolate than bittersweet. It’s surprisingly mouth-watering at times, as well as also quite thick.
Macallan 18 Years of Age Sherry Oak
Now in a black box, rather than a purple one (like the Sherry Oak 12), this is what made use to be the only Macallan series set no 1 to no. 6 on the market; full-term Sherry maturation.
This is the criterion for deluxe solitary malt for several solitary malt drinkers. It’s the Rolex Submariner of whiskies.
It’s whatever you need it to be. However, the competition for 18 years of age single malts has become intense, and there are a variety of options well under $300 that I assume rival the Mac 18 for the cash. That being stated, I would never, ever before deny a glass.
