Macallan Edition No. 5

Explosion of vanilla on the nose, from an alcohol-soaked dessert (like a cream baba or a malaga), drop of honey, raisins, cinnamon, candied orange. Alcohol does not give room in time, while always remaining tied to the pastry vocation of whisky. On the palate it is practically a cake distillate, even more than on the nose, oriented on the English soup with a massive presence of orange and vanilla cream, with alcohol that gives a light liveliness but without overdoing it. Linear in the aromas, without any significant variation, even letting it breathe. Medium length finish, with raisins, vanilla, hazelnut. This whisky evokes images from an English tea room, with upright ladies munching creamy desserts with silver forks, mulling over the latest news from the Royal Family. Rather simple and clean, does't present much evolution or complexity, it offers what it promises, a pleasant drink and nothing more.

I have to say this bottle have opened up nicely more so than any other bottle I have experienced. Its quite good now after being open for 3 months now and @ 2/3 bottle.

Nose: Golden raisins, sherry, light oak. Taste: Golden raisin creme brûlée very creamy. Finish: Medium finish with raisin and toasted oak

Finishing up my reviews of the Macallan Edition series with this year’s release, Edition No. 5, courtesy of @LeeEvolved. This newest edition is bottled at 48.5% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of amber. This particular Macallan uses a high proportion of ex bourbon barrels, and it shows. Even though all of the casks were sherry seasoned, the first note I got on the nose was bourbon, and a lot of it. The American oak really stands out and delivers a ton of sweetness. Copious amounts of vanilla, caramel and brown sugar. The sherry starts to come through a little with golden raisins, chocolate and sweet grapes. There was something that kept me wondering for a while, and then all of a sudden it hit me...kettle corn. First time I’ve ever gotten that and it was very interesting. Donut glaze, powdered sugar. If smells could rot your teeth this would carry a warning from the American Dental Association. Peaches & cream, vanilla custard, sweet oaky notes. After it sits a good long while I started to get apples and pears as well. The palate had a somewhat sweet entry, followed by a surprisingly spicy arrival. Very oaky with lots of wood spice. Again, way more bourbon than sherry. Slightly astringent. Vanilla, a bit sour, and that odd kettle corn note from the nose. A little barrel char, aromatic, a touch floral and some hay. Little to no sherry presence, some orange peel, but nothing else in the way of fruits. A little salt and chocolate, but way too much oak. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is astringent, mouthwatering, then dry. The finish is medium long with oak, bourbony oak, tannic oak, clove and ginger. I really enjoyed the nose on this one for how oddly sweet it was and that unique kettle corn note, but the palate completely undermined that enjoyment. It’s as if they created this whisky solely on the nose alone, smelled the end result and said, that’s perfect, no need to taste it, I’m sure it’s fine. The palate was overly harsh and way over oaked. The worst of the Edition series I’ve had. It’s not even recognizable as a Macallan. I’d give the nose a 4, but the palate struggles to get past a 2.75 or 3 at best. So for that I will give it a 3.25. Cheers