Macallan 1990/2011, Malts of Scotland, Fino Sherry Hogshead 1135
It’s a Macallan. THAT coveted distillery beloved of hungry collectors, capable of selling a NAS whisky for GBP380,000.
They do make a fine whisky truth be told, with their famously small stills and narrow cuts. Macallan is also still direct fired, which is ironically traditional compared to their cutting edge marketting.
Not the prettiest of distilleries though:
And don’t forget that in terms of size, Macallan is a behemoth – it once had 21 stills producing 6 million litres a year, but the oldest 6 stills have since gone silent. Seriously though, that’s still huge.
Macallan 1990/2011, Malts of Scotland, Fino Sherry Hogshead 1135, 51.5%,254 bottles
Nose: Thick strappy nutty creamy clove and vanilla goodness. Nice and punchy! Golden raisins. But not cloying, a healthy dose of dry woody spices keeps it in check and balanced. Then coffee on a recently polished old leather sofa. Tobacco leaf. Such bourbon-y notes! Old oak floors, and that typical oak spice returns. Also little red popping berries, like the kind I get from a Redbreast 15. If I hadn’t known better, my guess would have been first fill bourbon! With water, a soft floral elegance reveals itself next to that big first whiff. Lavender, geranium, magnolia sort of scent. Dry herbiness with the wood too.
Palette: Syrupy bittersweet liqueur bitters, feel is medium but thickly so. White pepper makes a hot mouth but that quickly quietens to a warming herbal-iciousness. Turns drying with that spiciness and oakiness taking over. Aniseed. With water: No big change.
Finish: Long and dry but also a bit sour and leafy – dill? and that very bourbony aftertaste of banana. Where is that from!
Nice whisky but it feels like they almost HAD to take it out of the cask because the cask was taking over it’s character. A bit flat on the drier fino side as expected but totally interesting, a lesson in fino sherry.
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