A Tale of Two Macallans

   Another post from Tom, this time on a pair of Macallans.  Some very interesting comparisons on the bottles, and a couple of rare finds as one bottle is travel only retail.  There will be a follow up to this article to be published shortly featuring a review from Tom from my other bottle of Whisky Maker's Edition Macallan.  We'll see if that stacks up to either of these given the moniker.

The Macallan 1824 Collection - Select Oak - Travel Retail Exclusive - 40% ABV

The Macallan 1989 14 Year Old - Lombard’s Jewels of Scotland - 58% ABV

  One of the true highlights of my trip to Scotland, for the May Speyside Whisky Festival, was visiting the Macallan distillery. Besides being nestled within a gorgeous setting, the distillery and its visitor’s centre give an excellent overview of their philosophy in whisky making, with an interactive “museum”-like experience that is fun and informative for both novice whisky drinkers and connoisseurs. Even greater, of course, was the tasting, which went through a range of many expressions, including the new make. Our tour guide encouraged us to sample the new make between each tasting so that we could better differentiate between the spirit and the wood - brilliant idea. In my experience, Macallans don’t tend to excite whisky connoisseurs (or maybe I’m wrong and it’s just my circle) and on one hand, I can see why - they tend to be heavily sherried expressions that could sometimes use more complexity. On the other hand, however, I love both the spirit (very fruity and floral, and that silky mouthfeel is unique to Macallan) and their use of wood (they pay very close attention to the quality of their casks, both sherry (which is their trademark) and bourbon).

  So here we are comparing two very different styles of Macallan. Our first is from their 1824 Collection, available only through travel retail. I picked this one up at the duty free store at Newark airport, having caught one of the last flights out of NYC before Hurricane Sandy hit. It is the Select Oak, wherein the the spirit is matured in five different cask types (what those cask types are, they do not say). Other expressions in the 1824 Collection are known as Whisky Maker’s Edition, Estate Reserve, Oscuro and 1824 Limited Release. The Select Oak is 40% ABV, and is presumably both coloured and chill-filtered.

The colour is a burnt gold with straw highlights. On the nose, quite complex and fruity. Definite sherry and oak, with dates, plums, dark cherry, almond brittle, nutmeg. Water brings out more sweet maltiness. The palate immediately shows sherry, with a very sweet and silky mouth feel. Cherry compote, also vanilla, cinnamon and a little bit of pepper. A little water brings out the spices. I detect the faintest hint of sulphur but it’s not terribly unwelcome here. Smooth and rich.

The finish is long and deep, filling the upper chest - but ends up a little dry and tannic. This is a very smooth, rich, lovely dram, though a bit more of a blunt instrument than most Macallans. I’ve been working it for the last hour and I do find it a little much after a while, despite some complexity,

Our second Macallan comes not from the distillery but from Lombard’s, an independent bottler, from their “Jewels of Scotland” range. This spirit was distilled in 1989 and aged for 14 years, and bottled at 58%, non-coloured and non-chill-filtered. I am reviewing this off of a sample so I do not have any other information from the label at hand. However, this particular bottle was available through the LCBO at $134.95, and is well worth getting (sadly out of stock now). Never fear as you can order a dram at Habits Gastropub on College (west of Ossington).

The colour is a light-to-medium amber. The nose is very robust and malty, with a little smoke (wonder where that comes from, since Macallans are not peated?) Also featuring vanilla and sugar, so it’s almost a little bourbon-y (as befits the cask). Dry roasted almonds and mint. Water brings out more oak, surprisingly. Beautiful.

The palate reflects that classic Macallan silky mouth feel, with more alcohol heat than you might be used to from this distillery! Features many of the notes from the nose, but more almonds and macadamia nuts, some dates. And with water, we have more oak - which works beautifully with the malt. Water tames the alcohol and brings out more malt, nuts and fruit, which is very welcome. Extremely complex, developing, changing over time.

The finish is very developing - it goes from short to long to heavy, almost mossy finish. This is an excellent whisky, more challenging than standard Macallans with the heavier alcohol and the stronger bourbon cask notes.

To compare - I feel the Lombard’s is the superior dram, though the more introductory drinker may feel differently. The Lombard’s is more complex, more challenging and changes over time. The Select Oak does not push the boundaries of what Macallan has to offer, but features classic Macallan notes that are undeniable. Both are worth trying, but the Lombard’s is your best bet, and something quite different than the usual distillery bottlings.