Macallan 17 yo 1965 43% ~ bottled 1983 vs Macallan 29 yo 1965 / 1994 Signatory #1058 49%
Macallan 17 yo 1965 43% ~ bottled 1983
Right. So if you’ve had one of those old sherry matured whiskies where the balance between the sherry and spirit is seamless, and you didn’t even bother looking at the the strength because it’s perfect as it is, then you might experience a bit of deja vu here. It’s deep, rich, dry, full of dark fruit and caramelised things. Superbly complex. Drop of tar. Smear of soot. Old lamp oil. Dried up celery sticks. Round as a perfect sphere of flavour. The spirit is silken, yet ample enough to don the sherry but shrug off the wood, and keep it all together with a warmth and an easy grace. Drying finish with herbal accents. Old tea leaves and artichoke. 91 pts
Macallan 29 yo 1965 / 1994 Signatory #1058 49%
We’ve arrived at a similar place, though to be sure this one is redolent of woodier aspects – peeled chestnuts, old splintered oak panels, split black tea on worn leather, ancient lacquer, walnut shells, chinese rhubarb and resinous bark shavings. A raisin-y, figgy, jammy dark sort of richness peeking through all that wood. Fernet even. So the wood does hold sway, just as it does on the tongue, but it does so in an absolutely elegant way. Very classy. The tannins really show now, along with familiar things like that black tea (again), unsweetened cola, soot, bitter herbs, black earth, one drop of cough syrup, and burnt firewood. It’s a big oaky whisky but the Macallan wears this with a flourish rather than becoming clunky. 90 pts
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