pkingmartin
Macallan Double Cask 12 Year
Single Malt — Highland, Scotland
Reviewed
November 26, 2022 (edited November 27, 2022)
To start off my Macallan series, I have a sample of their 12-year old Double Cask that was bottled at 40% ABV.
The nose starts with a mix of sautéed gooseberries, powdered ginger and mild sulfur then cocoa powder dusted prunes and toasted hazelnuts followed by sour apple, musty grapes and tangerine orange pith that transition to light baking spices and mildly bitter black tea with no ethanol burn.
The taste is a thin watery mouthfeel starting with a mix of golden raisins, powdered ginger and mild sulfur then a moderate bitter and sour spice that slowly fades to dark chocolate mocha and prunes followed by sour apple, nectarines and ruby red grapefruit that transition to light baking spices and mildly bitter black tea with no ethanol burn.
The finish is short with golden raisins, ruby red grapefruit, cocoa powder, ginger, moderate black pepper spice and bitter black tea.
Well, this series isn’t off to a great start as I find this to be an incredibly lackluster dram that the flavors are on the sour side with a moderate bitterness that likely struggles due to that low 40% ABV and comes across as a glass of watered down apple juice with some black pepper thrown in. Perhaps the version that is bottled at 43% would help intensify the flavors to be slightly bolder and richer, but I don’t have high confidence that a 3% bump would make a significant difference and instead will just move on towards the next sample.
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@cascode Ah, so affordable Macallan today is similar to purchasing a ticket to a junior football game where it will be youthful, disjointed and utter chaos, but with an exorbitant price you get to watch the professionals play. @PBMichiganWolverine Yeah, I never look to purchase any of their offerings anymore, but found a lot of samples at a decent price, so thought it’d be fun to explore from their affordable to exorbitant price range. @Slainte-Mhath Yum, an older release of their 12-year sherry oak sounds delightful. I tried that back in 2004 when I started down this spirit rabbit hole and found it rather delicious. It’s unfortunate that todays versions are no longer at the same quality.
@pkingmartin The only Macallan I bother to keep in my collection is the old 12 YO Sherry Wood. I leave the rest to the flippers.
@cascode @pkingmartin unless giving as a gift, Macallan makes no sense to buy. Their good stuff is exorbitant. And Sienna, along with the 2018 Classic Cut, were the last good affordable ones
@cascode but that’s the rub with Macallan. If the 12 Year is $80 and bad, there’s really no way I’m going to risk dropping a few hundred on the same brand. They got to make me feel like they care about the craft at every level and not just the premium.
@DjangoJohnson They still make great whisky, but only at exorbitant prices. The affordable stuff is poor nowadays. The last really good and affordable malt they made was Sienna, and it was an unusual profile for Macallan.
@DjangoJohnson 😂 That sums this whisky up perfectly!!! Thanks for verifying for me.
The bump does no good. Macallan is The Rolling Stones still playing a pale imitation of Satisfaction 40 years after having written it from what I understand: much better in the past.