Tasting the Macallan 12 years Old 40% Sherry Oak Casks from Jerez ‘90’s bottle.
I love Macallan, the Rolls Royce of single malts. I especially appreciate the old stuff, as I’m a sucker for old school drams from back in the day ## – well before a multi-million dollar investment turned the place into a veritable Wonka-esque theme park with a visitor center offering a “unique glimpse” into the premises, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.
Opening one of those antique bottles is a special moment, that makes my whisky lovers heart pound in my chest. It’s passion! So here’s my take on this lovely dram.
Nose:
Yes, sherry baby…what a sherry bomb. Amontillado sherry, oranges (more like tangerines), plums, and apricot marmalade. I’m detecting some pear… my colleague Paul would suggest pear drops at this point, I know that for sure. I’m a sucker for those keynotes. Due to its aging there are some nice woody tones too, almost spicy. Yes, I said almost!
Taste:
Nice, gentle and superb due to its creamy notes. Blackcurrants and forest fruit. Is there some chocolate… yet there is. Some pear in the background and oak notes!
Finish:
Nice and gentle, with a lingeringly long finish that keeps its warmth and seems to go on forever. That apricot marmalade I mentioned earlier is now on the foreground.
Balance and complexity:
The nose and the taste are extremely well balanced. In terms of complexity, it’s the marmalade that makes the dram!
Comments:
A lovely old school dram. They don’t make them like these anymore, sadly. I guess the late nineties really were an end of an era. The availability is getting rarer by the day. It was nice to re-taste this again.
90/100 points in my book. Well deserved!
Blog by Nils van Rijn
