Tastes

This is a masterful expression of what malt whisky can be. The nose is a cornucopia of fruit and grain notes - ripe grapes, peaches, apple. There's vanilla, honey, cream, a pinch of spice, and maybe the lightest hint of pipe smoke, too. The palate is as luscious, generously coating the mouth as all of these elements dance together, first the fruit and then the rest gliding on and on into a long, smooth finish with dark chocolate staying on the palate for a good while later. Truly a classic.

It both is and is not what you would expect from a Macallan 12 year aged in both American and European oak. On the one hand, the classic notes of both European sherry casks and American bourbon casks are there - sherry dark fruit and nuttiness, bourbon sweet vanilla and dry woody notes. You do get all of the above, but...this is still a predominantly sherry-tinged dram, more so than I would have expected. It's good, though less of a departure from the usual house style than anticipated.

Tasty stuff. Fresh apple, strawberry (first time for everything...), vanilla, and baking spices on the nose; the palate is fresh and clean, but rich, overflowing with apple-cinnamon oatmeal topped with vanilla cream. There's a little bit of toffee at the end. Scrumptious, and not a bad price for the quality.

A fine blend! The high malt percentage used shows, as does the higher ABV; this is a rich, chewy dram, with a soft layer of fresh fruit, vanilla, and spice over a muscular base of earthy grain. This has enough personality to hold up in a cocktail fairly well....which is a compliment!

Reminiscent, for me, of Redbreast thanks to the sherry finish. It's spicy, full, and fruity - you can practically see unctuous, oozing, ripe dark fruit, along with dried fruits and almond. The rich, coating mouthfeel gives this a nice, long finish.

You're not going to find better for less in the world of scotch whisky, that's for sure. Light and fresh, this is a quintessential Speyside malt - ripe and fruity, with vanilla and caramel and a little light citrus to keep things bright. This isn't mindblowing stuff...until you remember that you paid $25 for it, and that you've paid more for lesser quality malts. Well worth a try!

This is an excellent example of how cask selection changes the personality of a whisky...try this side by side with the 12 year old. The 12 is full, fruity, salty, and citrusy, with a little vanilla swirling about; Navigator, meanwhile, holds on to the slightly salty quality, but showcases more of shortbread than vanilla, orange peel rather than lemon, and substitutes the fresh fruitiness for darker, sherry-tinged dried fruit. It's absolutely delicious, though my personal preference is still for the 12 year.

If I had to compare this to a wine, it would be like an aged chardonnay - buttery, oaky notes of vanilla and spice, plus tropical fruit and honey roasted nuts both on the nose and palate. It's a good dram, competing for me with the Ex-Bourbon Cask and Concertmaster (port cask) for top honors.

My favorite member of the Kavalan family, this is the perfect marriage of their signature malt notes with cask selection. The classic bourbon/American oak notes are there in all their beautiful glory - sweet vanilla and coconut, plus banana cream, tropical fruit, and a dry oaky woodiness. Palate is light, clean, and focused, with fruit and creamy vanilla, but it's not so sweet as to seem dessert-like. Really well done!

You can tell this was aged in port casks just from the nose - that jammy dried berry quality is fairly big and obvious, along with baking spices. The palate is a berry and tropical fruit salad sprinkled with some cinnamon and clove. I liked this one; probably my second favorite in the Kavalan family!