Let us get this straight from the start, the Macallan branding and whisky is widely considered as the Rolls Royce in the world of whiskies. The brand is arguably one of the most highly regarded whisky brands in the world, meaning it is also in very high demand. The packing is beautiful, label classy, clean and the whisky itself… many consider this bottle the benchmark of Sherry Whiskies. Did i mention the Macallan bottle is one of my favourite bottle designs as well… It’s the complete package or that’s what they are trying to sell!
Now, to the bottle at hand, The Macallan 12 years Sherry Oak, the Macallan are famous of their whiskies in Sherry Oak in particular European Oak from Jerez, Spain. This then suggest if you are familiar with Macallan range, the Fine oak series was released because The Macallan were rumored to be running out of or couldn’t keep up to demand with European Oak/Sherry Whisky so they decided to mix it in with American Bourbon and Sherry Casks and naming the range “Fine Oak” which is triple cask.
The Macallan sold so well and in such high demand that recently have taken away the age statements for their new Range “The 1824 Series” and named it based on their colour, for example the Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby.
So based on the information above, the whisky we are focusing on, is from a highly regarded brand “The Macallan”, has a age statement where the distillery is recently reducing their Age Statement whiskies and a European Sherry Oak cask. If you were an experienced whisky connoisseur your mind will be adding two and two together and have come to the conclusion that this should be an expensive or rare (or both) bottle of whisky.
Where the Magic happens, The Macallan Distillery from Google Maps View
So let look at the figures, the Macallan considered a Speyside Whisky, light sweet single malt is the third biggest single malt seller in the world and have tripled their sales to 9.3 million in 2013. The distillery has a capacity of 9.8 million litres and has another project in place to push the capacity to 16 million litres. It has the reputation and will have the capacity to meet demand, keep your eyes out on future releases!
The Macallan is owned by the Edrington Group. The Edrington Group is a Scotch whisky company which also owns several well-known blended brands Famous Grouse, The Macallan and Highland Park.
So enough about the distillery and more about this Macallan 12 year old Sherry Cask, matured in European Oak for a minimum of 12 years, the colour a rich gold is the youngest of the rare Macallan Sherry Oak range, which also consist of an 18, 25 and 30 years old bottles.
The Tasting Notes from their webpage:
Nose: Vanilla with a hint of ginger, dried fruits, sherry sweetness and wood smoke
Palate: Deliciously smooth, rich dried fruits and sherry balanced with wood smoke and spice
Finish: Sweet toffee and dried fruits, with wood smoke and spice
Link: The Macallan 12 years Sherry Oak
For some of the older whisky connoisseurs, they would remember that this whisky would have been the staple for 12 year old single malt whisky. Clean, light spices, vanilla, nose a bit light but a solid whisky. Similar to other 12 years it shows great potential but it’s just missing something from being a great whisky… I would say another 3 to 5 years in the barrel!
So how much would you pay for it? To be honest it’s more of a collector’s item due to the rarity. It’s not very expensive I got mine for approx. $130 AUD, it is on the higher end for a 12 year old whisky. However if you can find one, as they say … you need to buy three, 1x for collection, 1x for drinking and 1x for your MATES! It’s one of those whiskies where it has a good reputation and long history and you know it’s rare… and you might want to spend an extra couple of bucks just to see what all the fuss is all about!
One more point, there are two versions a 40% ABV and a 43% ABV, if you buy it from America it would be the 43% ABV and for the rest of the world it’s the 40% ABV version.
Taste: 8.3
Price: $$
Cost per shot: $5.57
Rarity: As Rare as Rubies…
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