Today, the Macallan single malt whiskey is processed in the award-winning distillery located in Speyside, Scotland surrounded by a 485-acre estate.

Two luxurious epithets that owe to their careful, deliberate whiskey-making process.įrom one of the first legally licensed distillers in Scotland, Alexander Reid, the legacy has been carefully passed on for many generations until now with the Whisky Mastery Team. Today, the Macallan is considered as the “Rolls Royce of Single Malts” and the “Dom Perignon of Scotch”. The Macallan whiskey brand is one of the earliest distillers of single malt whiskey in Scotland since 1824.

4 The Best Way(s) to Drink Macallan Whiskey.I suggest skipping the water – this whisky doesn’t need it. Truly a classic dram, which continues to be excellent. The finish, while capable, doesn’t reveal anything unexpected. In the mouth, the quality is evident, but the number of detectable flavors is limited. No leaning towards the rancid fruit, nor any suggestion of oak saturation. Nothing is out of place or weighted too heavily. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect sherry-matured nose: the malt integrates flawlessly with the equally flawless sherry notes. Overall: The beauty of this is in the nose. A little water dulls the brighter notes, muddying the clarity of the flavors somewhat.įinish: Medium-long, with a bit of cigar tobacco, cocoa nibs, dried cranberries, and a last eddy of woodiness. Jams and preserves dominate, dried figs, milk chocolate-dipped dried apricots. Unbelievably smooth on the tongue, with barely any burn. Palate: Oaky upfront, furniture varnish, a little cherrywood peeking through. A few drops of water makes it seem younger, bringing a little candy apple and fruit punch. It’s a beautiful, silky nose with pristine sherry character and perfectly aged malt. The fruit here is bright and juicy: ripe red raspberries, strawberry preserves, quince paste on toasted wheat bread, some oaky caramel and hot drawn butter. Today’s Macallan 18 is perhaps a little brighter, a little sweeter, and just as good. I remember having a glass from a previous batch early in my whisky education and being blown away by the smoothness and the dark, leathery complexity. I split this bottle with a friend – purchased in July of 2011, it comes from one of the more recent batches. Whether that’s the case at Edrington or not, The Macallan 18 continues to impress. When “efficiency” begins to trump “quality” in the boardroom, customers suffer. The only complaint most experts have about The Macallan is that their incredible level of production – 8 million liters of alcohol annually – implies a corporate culture of mass-production. At WhiskyFest last week, The Macallan table was as busy as ever – they were pouring the 18. A consistent level of quality combined with a popular (if older) style of cask aging – all sherry, all the way – make this dram a standard favorite among even the whisky elite. Usually when a product attains this type of status with “the public”, it becomes persona non grata with the anoraks, geeks, and connoisseurs that make up the rest of the industry. If a big-time corporate CEO doesn’t know much about scotch but needs to impress foreign investors, chances are he pours either The Macallan 18 or Johnnie Walker Blue Label. gah!) it made headlines (not, you know, USA Today, but bear with me here). When Jessica Simpson ordered a glass of The Macallan 18 at a restaurant in L.A. Drinking it has become something of a status symbol. On one hand it remains the staple of luxury hotel bars, CEO offices, and corporate Christmas gifts. The Macallan 18 lies at the intersection of two worlds. Therefore, take the below with a grain of salt. At a stretch, I would pay $150 in 2016 prices… and mostly only for nostalgia’s sake. While the tasting below is accurate, I do not believe that Macallan 18 is worth $240 a bottle. Note: This review was written in 2011 back when Macallan 18 was a bit above $120.

Macallan whiskey 18 price