The Macallan Sherry Oak
- Scotland - 40.00%
Glossy and polished. Big flavour rules here.
The Macallan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
8 Modern-day Macallan. Full of flavour but neither cloying nor overwhelming.
The Macallan 10 Years Old, Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.80%
8 With its distinctly reddish chestnut colour, this is clearly well sherried. An uncomplicated, robust, Macallan. Simply delicious.
The Macallan 10 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 The extra two years have made this a little drier, and it still lacks complexity. Improvement to come here.
The Macallan 12 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
8 Can a malt be both popular and good? Of course, but not if your taste is determined by elitism. (The same applies to musicians, writers, etc).
The Macallan 12 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 Starting to get there now. The qualitative jump from 10 to 12 is exactly parallel to that in sherried expressions. I'd buy this one!
The Macallan 15 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 This is getting difficult, but the 12 Years Old still just edges it for me.
The Macallan 18 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
9 A lovely whisky in its own right, but not quite as layered as the best vintages.
The Macallan 18 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 A lovely, elegant yet large whisky. Why would you ever use sherry wood?
The Macallan 1926, 60 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 A privilege to taste such an old whisky but I just cannot handle such woody astringency.
The Macallan 1937, 36 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00%
8 Blindfold, I am not sure I would not recognise this as a Macallan until that familiar finish.
The Macallan 1937, 37 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00%
8 With a colour close to that of today's product and a bright clarity, this visually recalled some of the yet-older Macallans that have inspired replica editions.
The Macallan 1940, 35 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 Not quite the complexity of the 1946 and 1948. Oaky woodiness begins to intrude.
The Macallan 1945, 56 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 51.50%
8 Very lively, but ill-tempered. I kept expecting it to propose the return of military service, or demand that I had my hair cut.
The Macallan 1948 Select Reserve
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00%
8 Paler in colour and lighter in body, but what a palate...great Speyside whiskies once tasted like this.
The Macallan 1948, 51 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
9 Drink it and travel back in time. It is one of the finest malts I have ever tasted.
The Macallan 1949, 50 Years Old, Millennium
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00%
9 A beautifully composed, luxurious whisky.
The Macallan 1949, 52 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 41.10%
8 Not much evidence of alcohol. Elegant but frail. Doesn't approach the 1948 I tasted a few years ago.
The Macallan 1951 Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 49.60%
8 I am a great devotee of the older Macallans, but this one is too woody for me.
The Macallan 1961 Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 54.70%
9 This one I loved. The flavours have melded beautifully, in what must have been an excellent cask.
The Macallan 1964, 37 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.60%
7 Interesting in its own right. Hard to envisage as a Macallan, especially with its pale, greeny-gold colour.
The Macallan 1967, 35 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 56.30%
8 The dark mahogany colour speaks of wood. The cask itself had more to give than the 1970.
The Macallan 1970, 32 Years Old, Vintage
Single Malt - Scotland - 54.90%
8 Still recognisably Macallan, but the dark claret colour sounded a wood warning. I am forgiving of woodiness, but this approached my limits. Other malt-lovers may be more tolerant.
The Macallan 1977, 25 Years Old, Christopher's Queen's Jubilee Magnum
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
9 Lighter-bodied and drier than the others. I found it a little thin in the middle.
The Macallan 1979 18 Years Old, Gran Reserva
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
9 Strictly for lovers of powerfully oaked whiskies.
The Macallan 1981, Unfiltered Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.00%
9 When I tasted this bottling, I was shocked by its spiciness. When I had recovered my composure, I gradually began to find it very more-ish.
The Macallan 1989, Exceptional Cask V
Single Malt - Scotland - 59.20%
8 Lovely pinkish mahogany colour. Big esters, together with alcohol, balance a surprising degree of woodiness. Drinks older than it is. Another fogeyish bottling.
The Macallan 21 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 Fine if you're a bourbon fan, but this is perhaps a little too far for me.
The Macallan 25 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 No further, I think.
The Macallan 30 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00%
3 The finish does have the same effortless charm as the ‘46 or the 25 Years Old. Sensational nose.
The Macallan 30 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
8 I was wrong! This is infinitely better.
The Macallan 50 Years Old, Millennium Decanter
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
9 This is on the woody side. A little too woody for me in its late astringency, but it is always a privilege to taste such old whiskies.
The Macallan 8 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
7 I'm not a fan of younger Macallans, but this is a drinkable, if somewhat undemanding, 8 Years Old.
The Macallan Easter Elchies Seasonal Cask Selection Summer 2007
Single Malt - Scotland - 60.20%
7 This is all about power, show and bravado and misses out on elegance depth and nuance. Some will love it.
The Macallan Easter Elchiles Cask Selecttion 12 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 59.60%
8 A sherry bomb but has sweetness.
The Macallan Elegancia
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
7 Macallan Lite? Because I dislike the idea, I don't want to like the whisky, but it is a pleasant, easily drinkable dram.
The Macallan Estate Reserve
Single Malt - Scotland - 48.00%
8 A stunner… but why just Duty Free? Share the love.
The Macallan Exceptional Cask IV
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.40%
8 Not so much a winter whisky as a bear-hug. Or do the Grampians have a Mac Yeti?
The Macallan Exceptional Single Cask
Single Malt - Scotland - 59.30%
8 I like oak, but this was a bit too much for me.
The Macallan Fifties
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
8 Closest to The Macallan of today, appropriately enough.
The Macallan Fine Oak 'Whisky Maker's Selection'
Single Malt - Scotland - 42.80%
7 Fine, not a lot of oak.
The Macallan Forties
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
8 A similar style to 30s but less delicate and more robust.
The Macallan Gran Reserva
- Scotland - 45.60%
7 Good balance of high-impact oak and rich spirit. A powerful Macallan.
The Macallan Replica 1874
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
9 A deft re-creation. This version is notably estery.
The Macallan Replica 1876
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.60%
8 Similar to the 1841, but not quite as sophisticated.
The Macallan Replica, 1841
Single Malt - Scotland - 41.70%
8 Delicious whisky, of true sophistication and style. Tasted blindfold, it seems a perfect whisky for today, not an evocation of the past. I would re-package it as 2041.
The Macallan Replica, 1861
Single Malt - Scotland - 42.70%
8 Quite an achievement. Like the previous 'replica' edition, this is more delicate than the robustly sherried Macallans of today.
The Macallan Select Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
7 Very easy drinking,but holds the interest with its various layers.
The Macallan Special Reserve
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
9 This is true of several of the older Macallans, suggesting that the sherry casks had contained styles other than dry Oloroso.
The Macallan That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.90%
8 A well matured sherried malt. A beautiful after dinner dram to enjoy with a praline chocolate. Avoid adding water with this one.
The Macallan Thirties
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
9 With its floweriness and a hint of peat, this seems to me a classic old-style Speysider.
The Macallan Twenties
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
8 Despite a relatively full colour, suggesting plenty of sherry, the Macallan flavours shine through. The driest of these bottlings.
The Macallan Whisky Maker's Edition
Single Malt - Scotland - 42.80%
8 Yet again Macallan on form. Great interplay with oak and spice.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society The Macallan 11 Years Old, 24.48
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.80%
7 It is always interesting to taste a Macallan that is less sherried than usual. This one could have been rounder.
Adelphi The Macallan 1988
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.50%
7 I prefer my Macallan with its typical sherry character.
Celtic Heartlands The Macallan 1968
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.20%
7 Dry Oloroso is a very good idea.
Dewar Rattray The Macallan 14 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.60%
7 A very odd Macallan. Perhaps a very odd cask.
Dewar Rattray The Macallan 16 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 51.30%
7 Puts me in mind of an aged Tequila, with a big splash of lime.
Dewar Rattray The Macallan 17 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.40%
8 A beautifully combined aromatic display with a caressing texture. Delicious.
Douglas Laing The Macallan 16 Years Old, Burgundy Finish, The Vintage House
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00%
7 A real finesse, some thinness too. But Twiggy was a popular model in her time, wasn't she?
Gordon & MacPhail The Macallan 1993 Speymalt
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00%
7 Another unusual Macallan. Well-balanced. No sherry overload. Second-or third-fill maybe. Or a Fino cask?
Montgomerie's The Macallan 1989 Single Cask
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00%
7 Macallan in disguise. Impossible to recognise blind. So unusual but really attractive.
Old & Rare Platinum The Macallan 1977 27 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 51.00%
8 This is a very decent example of an independent bottling.
Old & Rare Platinum The Macallan, 28 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 48.20%
8 Have this without water. Hinting at complexity.
Old Malt Cask Macallan 1986 21 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 50.00%
7 A good deliveryof oak and fruit,well combined. Quite a spicy character.
Old Malt Cask The Macallan (Rum Finish), 12 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 50.00%
7 All rather insubstantial but attractive enough though.
Provenance Macallan 1998 8 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00%
7 Definitely a summer dram. Fresh like a lemon soda. To be enjoyed with a smoked salmon sandwich.
The Whisky Fair 1971 35 Years Old Olorosso Sherry Wood
- Scotland - 35.00%
6 Too old? Or too weak a new make to cope with the sherry influence. Or a poor cask ? Disappointing.
Wilson & Morgan The Macallan 1990, Marsala Finish
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00%
7 The estery Macallan notes are as brassy as the Basie band on top form.
The Macallan 1824 Collection Limited Release MMXII
A new travel-retail exclusive from the likes of The Macallan is always a welcome development and this new ultra-premium release is no exception.
The Macallan 1824 Collection Limited Release MMXII is ...
July 2012, Issue 105, page 38
The Macallan join the celebrations!
As a fitting addition to our 10th Anniversary celebrations,we have teamed up with The Macallan to select a cask of their finest 10 Years Old,to be bottled and offered exclusively to Whisky Magazinerea...
November 2008, Issue 76, page 8
The Colourful World of The Macallan
More of what you love from The Macallan
April 2013, Issue 111, page 24
Whisky Magazine Aged 10 Years
The Macallan join the celebrations!
September 2008, Issue 74, page 9
Case adjourned
Whisky enthusiast and scientist Alex Kraaijeveld responds to The Macallan's defence of the authenticity of its antique whiskies in the last issue
September 2003, Issue 33, page 16
The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Bottles
Jonny McCormick looks at the top 100 single malt whisky bottles auctioned this century
December 2011, Issue 100, page 24
Going VIP at Macallan
Did Whisky Magazine's secret agent really feel like a VIP on The Macallan's special tour?
July 2003, Issue 32, page 24
Colourful Characters
The Macallan: A New Era of Single malt Whisky Creation
September 2012, Issue 106, page 26
Heart of oak
Macallan has unveiled a £1 million development on its estate, Rob Allanson went to investigate
March 2007, Issue 62, page 10
Polaroid moments
The Macallan has unveiled an ambitious £1.3 million limited edition bottling produced in association with world famous, Scots born photographer Rankin.
Returning to his homeland, Paisley-born Rankin...
November 2008, Issue 76, page 6
En parade
As part of our 10th Anniversary celebrations Rob Allanson headed up to Speyside as the magazine was invited to lay down a couple of special barrels at The Macallan Distillery.
September 2008, Issue 74, page 18
Asia Loves Macallan
Jonny McComick reflects on three very different whisky sales
July 2011, Issue 97, page 82
The Miller's Tale
The Islay-Jura ferry wasn't working.
September 2003, Issue 33, page 5
The Macallan Essence
We report on The Macallan's latest photographic adventure
June 2012, Issue 104, page 22
A place of my own at last
Editor Dominic Roskrow celebrates the end of his first year by getting his own column
December 2003, Issue 36, page 74
Flying to Frankfurt?
Joe Bates heads out to Germany's largest place of work to check out the whisky selection
January 2009, Issue 77, page 34
The 1824 Series
100% sherry casks, 100% natural colour, 100% Macallan
April 2013, Issue 111, page 25
Under the hammer
Now you can find both of John Rose's superb articles about collecting whisky in one place. In collections,he looks at some of the latest bottles to come up at auction. In questions,he fields your enqu...
June 2008, Issue 72, page 32
Under the Hammer
In this 100th Edition of the Whisky Magazine which was first printed on the 20th November 1998, John Rose has selected six bottles at the price collectors could have bought them at auction in that yea...
December 2011, Issue 100, page 96
In conversation with Norman Shelley
Charles Maclean talks to 'The Perfect Collector', Norman Shelley
February 2001, Issue 14, page 82
What lies beneath?
Jonny McCormick reports on Christie's Paris auction and looks ahead to the year end sales
October 2010, Issue 91, page 74
Spectacular!
Jonny McCormick reports on the year's top priced bottle and salutes Glenmorangie's gains.
July 2010, Issue 89, page 82
Whisky's coming home
Joe Bates with the latest from travel retail
January 2006, Issue 53, page 55
Mordecai's Macallan
Which whisky wins the bookish prize? Self's Laphroaig, Black's Glenfiddich 18 ...or Michael Jackson's Bellow Bourbon?
October 1999, Issue 6, page 7
Searching for perfection
perfection The Whisky & Cigar Challenge matches a premium whisky with a premium Cuban cigar to produce the perfect match
May 2004, Issue 39, page 18
In the Summertime
Jonny McCormick toasts Centenary bottlings and welcomes a new entry.
September 2011, Issue 98, page 74
It's been a long time since...
Time is relative, and in the whisky industry you are reminded so regularly.
June 2004, Issue 40, page 5
Blake's Eight
Sir Peter Blake is one of the UK's most important artists; among his meister work, the iconic cover for The Beatles' seminal album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. As he approached his 80th birth...
July 2012, Issue 105, page 8
The price is right
Jonny McCormick reports on the Spring whisky auctions, some spectacular Macallan prices and why Bruichladdich is on the up.
April 2010, Issue 87, page 74
Up and Up
Jonny McCormick on a record breaking month
January 2011, Issue 93, page 74
Reaching Madrid
Joe Bates braves volcano-related travel chaos to visit Madrid Barajas Airport.
June 2010, Issue 88, page 36
Ask the Expert
I'm hoping that you could help me with some information on a bottle of Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Ardbeg. Distilled in 1974, the label says it was bottled in 1996 at ABV 40%. I am hoping th...
July 2012, Issue 105, page 82
Ask The Expert
Send your questionsto editorial@whiskymag.com or by post to: Q&A, Whisky Magazine, St Faiths House, Mountergate, Norwich, England, NR1 1PY
April 2013, Issue 111, page 82
All that glisters is not gold
Ian Buxton looks at the recent ultra premium releases.
September 2009, Issue 82, page 18
Island Odyssey
Jonny McCormickreports on Isly's growing dominance
April 2011, Issue 95, page 96
Moving malts on Madison (Park Avenue Liquor)
Damian Riley-Smith dropped in on the Park Avenue Liquor shop and emerged energised and inspired.
September 2000, Issue 11, page 48
Under the hammer
Now you can find both of John Rose's superb articles about collecting whisky in one place. In collections,he looks at some of the latest bottles to come up at auction. In questions,he fields your enqu...
February 2008, Issue 70, page 34
Norwegian whisky paradise
Joe Bates Gardermoen shops offer taxed locals whisky paradise
January 2007, Issue 61, page 55
Join the debate
email the team editorial@whiskymag.com
July 2009, Issue 81, page 74
Scotland's obscure corner shop (Whisky Shop)
David Stirk makes a pilgrimage to the heart of Speyside to meet Fiona Murdoch at the Whisky Shop, Dufftown, and collect his medal for visiting this 'obscure corner of Scotland'
February 2001, Issue 14, page 64
Small or Far Away
Jonny McCormick examines life in miniature
February 2013, Issue 109, page 72
Two bites of the sherry
If you're going to age whisky in heavily scented olorose casks you need a powerfully flavoured spirit to start off with. Stephen Brook examines the elements that make up the Macallan, and how second-...
March 1999, Issue 2, page 34
Ask the expert
Now you can find both of John Rose's superb articles about collecting whisky in one place. In collections,he looks at some of the latest bottles to come up at auction. In questions,he fields your enqu...
September 2008, Issue 74, page 36
Small is beautiful
Just miniatures does exactly what it says on the tin - sells just miniatures.
October 2004, Issue 43, page 20
Alive and kicking
Whisky enthusiasts came from far and wide to this year's sell-out Whisky Live, helping to make it the biggest and best yet. Dominic Roskrow looks back at the event, and over the page, Brigid James rev...
June 2003, Issue 31, page 20
Ask the expert
If you have a question for John,send it to editorial@whiskymag.com or by post to Questions & Answers, Whisky Magazine, St Faiths House Mountergate, Norwich,England, NR1 1PY
June 2009, Issue 80, page 72
Southern sinners
Lithuanian mead put Michael Jackson on the malt laden road. Here he talks about some friends he met along the way
February 2000, Issue 8, page 7
Whisky Live 2003!
Rare and delicious whiskies are just waiting to be discovered
March 2003, Issue 29, page 44
British food and drink savoured in Lisbon
The Single Malt Club Of Scotland was launched in Portugal at a ceremony held at the Ambassador's Residence in Lisbon.
Over 100 whisky enthusiasts attended the event in April, including members of the ...
July 2001, Issue 17, page 13
For your pleasure
Jonny McCormick encourages you to
delve into your private collection.
September 2010, Issue 90, page 74


