Macallan Edition No. 5

Excellent dram. Fruity and caramel

After being disappointed by Editions 3 and 4, I was not sold on this line. Ed. No. 2 restored my faith in the series. That brings us to the latest installment. I bought it for $10 more than the rest, though I've seen it for some pretty prices (one store even has it at $200.) Was 2 a fluke or will Mac redeem their two previous average efforts? Let's find out. Nose: Sherry heavy. Plum, date, fig, prune, raisin, red grape. Plenty of vanilla, honey, marshmallow, and toffee. Milk chocolate and salted caramel. Apple, pear, orange, and apricot add additional fruit influence. It's floral, and there's a bit of lemon in there, too. Clove, nutmeg, and oak. Good start. Palate: More plum, grape, and raisin. Pomegranite and acai berry. The apple, orange, pear, and apricot notes are now balanced with the dark fruit notes, which took a strong lead on the nose. Especially orange, and orange peel. More of the milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Bittersweet blackberry and tangy lime notes appear on the mid-palate. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and oak. Quite similar to the nose, and just as good and with a greater balance between the dark fruit notes that dominated the nose and the rest of the notes. Finish: The dry red fruit hits hard right off the bat. Plum, cranberry, fig, date, raisin, prune, pomegranite, acai berry. Orange and lime. More of the cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and oak spice that round out a long finish. Fantastic effort. Puts the series right back on track for me. I came into this tasting with a score of 4.25 in mind. But I'm deeply impressed with this one. I'll compare to the Ed. 2 (again) and 18 Y.O. Sherry oak to better frame my score, but I'm absolutely loving this one. Score may improve. Macallan seems to think that this was a great effort, as well. I purchased this one as soon as it hit the market for $110. That's $10 more than I paid for 2-4. Now, I regularly see this for $20-$40 higher--including at the store I originally got it at. With Macallan products, there seems to be a never-ending tug-a-war between value and quality. Compared to 2-4, this has quality. Only 2 is arguably better quality, and you can't say it's a better value because you can't buy it at retail price anymore (if you can, please contact me immediately.) Variables aside, this is a superb whisky. The 18, Ed. 2, and Ed. 5 are my last three Macallan reviews, and they have restored my faith in the product. If you can still find this for a reasonable price, grab this up before it's gone.