Macallan Oscuro

Cocoa, cream on the nose, chocolate, vanilla cream and spice cake on the palate.

It is very hard to justify this price for this Macallan which, to be honest, isn't any better than any other whiskies at a fraction of this price, let alone better Macallans.

Okey Dokey the grand finale...out of 12 drams provided by @LeeEvolved this is the most expensive by miles. $1400NZD or roughly $900USD. To add a twist to the tasting I put it head to head with Bunnahabhain and Glendronach 18 drams. So how did it go overall and against the side show? Firstly the Bunnahabhain..ah man. Usually for me drams improve a bit with time open then after too much time head back to the starting point or less. This just got better and better and has held there. If you love raisins this is for you, sultanas, xmas pudding etc. Easy 4.5. No wonder bottles are rare as hens teeth and $150USD a pop. 2nd the Glendronach 18. Ah toffee, toffee and more. I'm thinking 3 bottles is not enough and i need to stock pile one more. Update: I did and now have 5 which for a minimalist like me is a big deal! 3rd the Macallan. Now interestingly I'll fess up and say I mixed the samples up (to be fair I'm 7 drams in :-)) and thought this was the Bunnahabhain 18 as I was writing the review and declared I'd now be raising this to the top 1% of drams I've tried and a 4.75 and then almost cried at how it had broken my .5 rating range from first to subsequent taste so easily (i had noted it as a 4 rating on my initial taste which to be fair was a 7 flight tasting and it was at the end after a curried snack - yeah never again in a tasting session as that destroyed my palate but I was so so hungry at that point..)...except it wasn't the Bunna 18 it was the Oscuro. Damn this is an amazingly fine dram, it really is just perfection in a glass. Both the Bunnahabhain and Glendronach nip at it's heels but it really is flawless from start to end and they just couldn't match it...and not only that but its just so perfectly balanced and flavorsome..a homage to the art of cask blending. Oh what Macallan could have been if speculators hadn't destroyed access and availability to its goodness. Right a BIG, BIG thanks to @LeeEvolved for the magical rollercoaster of drams. Drum roll please.....the order of all drams is 1) Macallan Oscuro 4.75 2) Red Spot 4.5 3) Compass Box Stranger and Stranger 4.5 4) Ardbeg Galileo 4.25 to 4.5 5) Knob Creek CS Rye 2010 4.25 (if you like cherry flavour add .5 to rating) 6) Laphroaig Cairdeas Amontillado 4 7) Lagavullin 11 Nick Offerman 3.75 8) Laphroaig 2010 Master Edition 3.75 9) Corriemhor 8 yr Cigar Reserve 3.5 10) Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malt Fest 2018 Ruby Port Finish 3.5 11) Mortlach GOT 15 year 3.5 12) Serendipity 12 year 3.5 And there you have it. The hands down most awesomely diverse and full stop amazing tasting I've ever participated in (excluding the 80 dram epic 10 hour 2 day 2018 Dramfest session of course which is now only 5 days, 15 hours away for the 2020 event :-)). Ps. What is VFM you ask? Knob Creek. If that flavour profile is up your alley buy it. It's the Springbank of bourbon in it's refusal to compromise on quality or gouge on pricing.

Do you have to pay 900 for a Macallan to be this good? It seems so. Macallan Oscuro is a high end travel retail exclusive that comes in an enormous box and the bottle is just a piece of art. That alone can explain the price, because the juice inside of it, you can have the same great flavors on a Glendronach that goes for $250. Having said that, this bottle displayed in your bar will give you the status you might look for, but for me, a humble drinker, i will stick to some cheaper and still great drams. Macallan Oscuro is indeed a nice whisky, made of a blend of Macallan whiskies from 1987 and 1997; matured in oloroso sherry cask where it gets the very dark color (oscuro means "Dark" in spanish") and it has been bottled at 46.5%abv. On the nose, on the palate and the aftertaste is a High end glendronach (21yo or more). Hahahaha that is my best description. Lets get in to business: On the nose: chocolate, impalpable sugar, milk powder, coffee, old oranges, toffee, dulce de leche; there is this sweet sugary cinnamon and figs. On the palate, more chocolate, toffee, pepper; it reminds me of any sherry butt Glendronach single cask expression; bitter / citric old oranges. Aftertaste is pretty interesting: some spices come through, it has this mineral type of flavor to it. Oak spice and hints of dark chocolate. Overall this is a perfect dram. One that you should really get for less money. I know you might be paying for the incredible amazing bottle and the brand here, but it wouldn't be fair to say this is not a perfect dram, because it is. 100/100; sláinte mhath friends!