The Macallan - 16 May 2008 @ 7pm GMT

[mikeymad]

Nice Sherried...

What is your % on that one

[Ras Mazunga]

It's getting late here and have some things to do in the morning so,...good night everone enjoy! It was fun being with you tonight.

[Ryguy]

Nice Sherried...

What is your % on that one

If it's the one I got, NAS 57.8% Mikey

[mikeymad]

Cheers Ras. thanks

[Sherried Malt]

Yup, it's the 57.8.

Good night, Ras.

[Ryguy]

Macallan 17yo ( 46%, Signatory UCF Collection, 9.20.90/9.25.07, Refill Butt Cask #16307, 606/667 )

New bottle for me, just opened this the other day for a quick sample.

[mikeymad]

I remember the 57.8% being a good one. It seems that the ones that I have really liked, have been on the higher side of the proof.

Cheers,

[Ryguy]

I remember the 57.8% being a good one. It seems that the ones that I have really liked, have been on the higher side of the proof.

Cheers,

Mikey, you may still have a sample hanging around of it.....

[Ryguy]

Sample #1 Sig Macallan 17yo

Glass: large snifter

nose: very fruity and sweet
palate: honey and spice
finish: sweet and spicy

[Ryguy]

Macallan 17yo ( 46%, Signatory UCF Collection, 9.20.90/9.25.07, Refill Butt Cask #16307, 606/667 )

Sample #2

glass: Riedel Crystal SM

nose: light fruity notes, this glass isn't great for nosing
palate: honey and orangey
finish: long lasting spice

[Ryguy]

Macallan 17yo ( 46%, Signatory UCF Collection, 9.20.90/9.25.07, Refill Butt Cask #16307, 606/667 )

Sample #3

glass: Glencairn

nose: oranges and dried fruits
palate: Sweet oranges, marmalade?
finish: bitter chocolate and some spice

[Sherried Malt]

Macallan CS with a tiny splash of water

Nose: Nose has been tamed. Much less intense. (Chose not to say "watered down.") Less attractive, at least to me... Upon standing, it becomes a bit "off." That character faded but it was still somewhat flat and undistingiuished... (The 12's nose is better, more characteristic of a Macallan...)

Palate: Nice plushness on the tongue. Coats everything. Sweet fruit, almost like a jam of some sort. Hotness nearly all gone. Much better balanced.

Finish: Still a dry and somewhat bitter finish but again, tamed to a great degree.

Overall: Much better in my opinion, but I would be hard pressed to identify it as the same whisky. Think I'll be adding water pretty often when I drink the rest of the bottle, but I will miss the nose. Maybe a little less water next time...

[Ryguy]

Now onto one of my favorites!

Macallan 18yo ( 43%, Original Bottling, 1988 )

Sample # 1

Glass: Riedel Crystal SM

nose: toasted fruits and spice
palate: Rich and full bodied, oily mouth feel with more spices, oranges and a nice wood smoke taste
finish: a nice finish with some bitter chocolate, orange peels and spice

This is just better, no other way to put it here. It waay outdoes the 12yo.

[Ryguy]

Macallan 18yo ( 43%, Original Bottling, 1988 )

Sample # 2

Glass: Large Snifter

nose: Hints of wood and spice
palate: Nice, very nice overall mouth feel, warming with oranges and still the nice wood smoke taste. This just has more everything!
finish: Really smooth finish with hints of spice

OHH this is goooood

[Ryguy]

How you doing Mikey?

[Sherried Malt]

Macallan 18yo from 1974 (maybe)

Nose: Somewhat similar to the 12 with some Band-aids (or some other solvent) in the background. Not in your face, but noticeable. Sherry much less noticeable. The 12's nose is much cleaner...

Palate: A bit flat. None of the attack that I've experienced with the other two, but maybe the 18 is supposed to be like that. Don't have another 18 open to compare it to, and can't really remember my previous experiences with the 18. Nice enough sherriedness. Fuller than the CS with water. (The CS with water became a bit dodgy upon standing. Huh??) Very engaging fruit. Some apples but without the tartness?

Finish: Very easy to drink. Fruity. There's a hint of bread or dough here too.

Overall: Nice enough but need to compare it to some other 18s before I render an opinion...

[Sherried Malt]

Just remembered I have an Elegancia. I'm gonna give it a try against the 12...

[Ryguy]

Macallan 18yo ( 43%, Original Bottling, 1988 )

Sample # 3

Glass: Glencairn

nose: Dried firewood and a hint of fruit
palate: Very rich and oily, I love the mouth feel with this one. Still some oranges and I'm getting a nice burnt wood taste
finish: Still a smooth finish with a little bit of spice

[Ryguy]

Sherried Malt, I'm going to follow you and go with the CS next.
Great notes by the way!

[Ryguy]

Macallan Cask Strength NAS ( 57.8%, Original Bottling )

Glass: Large Snifter

Whoa, if this doesn't wake my nose up I dont' know what will! This is just plain good. I definitely prefer Macallan at CS, no question about that.

Sweet and fruity with a blast of spice in the finish. NICE!

[Sherried Malt]

Thanks. I'm diving thru the Elegancia right now...

[Sherried Malt]

Ganga, you done with work yet??

[Sherried Malt]

Macallan 12yo Elegancia (40% abv)

Nose: Not much there, very quiet. Thought I got some oakiness / creaminess but couldn't bring it out again. A bit like a ghost of the 12... Found the creaminess again after I just let it sit...

Palate: Very nicely balanced. Good sweetness and very light on its feet. A fine drink. Very easy to like. A hint of vanilla too.

Finish: May be the best of the bunch so far. Leaves a great impression of a fine dram. Maybe not life-altering but very very nice. Truth be told, I'm quite surprised. This has been its best showing while previous drams left me a bit ambivalent. It was nice enough, but not enough to think of it when I rummage thru the cabinet...

Let's see how it stacks up against the 12yo...

[Ryguy]

Macallan Cask Strength NAS ( 57.8%, Original Bottling )

Glass: Riedel Crystal SM

nose: Oranges and some spice
palate: This is a mouth blast of spice and sherry
finish: long lasting and spicy

[Ryguy]

Sample # 3

Macallan Cask Strength NAS ( 57.8%, Original Bottling )

Glass: Glencairn

On the nose it's still fruity, but almost like roasted fruits.
Wow this tastes more and more like chocolate as I go.
Very rich and full with a spicy finish.

[mikeymad]

Thanks for keeping it going guys. My allergy meds kicked in hard, and put me out for a while. I am working my way back from the dead.

Cheers,

[Sherried Malt]

Macallan 12yo vs 12yo Elegancia

Nose: Much prefer the 12. It's much more prominent and inviting. HTH, the sherry on the 12 seems just about perfect...

Palate: The 12 reminds me of a great nougat or wonderful confection. Delicious! The Elegancia, while still very nice, is but a shadow of the 12.

Finish: Goes to the 12 again.

Overall: I'm really impressed with the 12. If I had not revisited this, I would've easily awarded the prize to the Elegancia tonight. (Just to clarify, my comments are about the whiskies neat. With the right amount of water, the CS might be better...)

That's it for now. My lovely wife wants to watch a DVD now. Hope to be back in a while...

[Sherried Malt]

Thanks for keeping it going guys. My allergy meds kicked in hard, and put me out for a while. I am working my way back from the dead.

Cheers,

Hang in there, Mikey. Allergies suck bigtime, this time of year...

[Ryguy]

Glad to hear that you are doing better Mikey! Still drammin, but I'm struggling with my notes at this point though. It's been a really long week here, but I still have a couple drams in me.

Cheers Sherried Malt, glad you could make it!!

[Ryguy]

I've enjoyed the large snifter the most this evening, mostly for the nose, but it's been nice overall.

So here goes another!

Macallan 16yo ( 57.4%, SMWS, Cask #24.96, 1990/2007 )

[Ryguy]

Macallan 16yo ( 57.4%, SMWS, Cask #24.96, 1990/2007 )

nose: oranges and spice
palate: brown sugar and toffee, then comes out orange peels and a maybe a nutmeg spice?
finish: sweet yet spicy, lots of oranges in the finish

A very nice sherried beverage, it's my 1st Macallan from the SMWS, so I can't compare it to any other, but I'm enjoying the bottle quite a bit. I will probably buy another, as this bottle is getting low. Like I said earlier, Macallan at CS is just better IMO.

[Ryguy]

Cheers Mikey - I just poured another #24.96, glencairn this time. I think it's the last one for me. Hopefully Ganga will be back soon to keep it going with you. Have a good night!

[mikeymad]

I think that ganga will be gone for the rest of the evening, Old highschool buddy was coing over for dramming.

I will probably have a couple of drams in a little while.

I will try to keep the late crew going.

Cheers,

[Ryguy]

Good Night, and thanks for haning around.
Keep it going if you can, hopefully you'll get some help along the way.
Did I mention I really like Macallan!!!

[mikeymad]

Okay is it about 8:15 PST....

I will not be posting too many notes (I am not up to stuff yet), but I will be posting my thoughts on some drams.

Join the fun if you like...

Cheers,