Generously_Paul
Macallan Classic Cut (2017 Release)
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
April 11, 2018 (edited October 17, 2019)
I’ve been wanting to try this limited release from Macallan for a while, and thanks to @LeeEvolved I now have that chance. Classic Cut is bottled at cask strength of 58.4% ABV, is non chill filtered and natural color of dark copper.
The nose is powerful. Sweet sherry, heavy raisins and dates and dark cherries. Sherried sawdust...I’m sorry sir I just dropped this bottle of sherry on the floor. That’s ok ma’am, it just so happens I have a bucket full of sawdust from when I ground down my old oak tree stump. Let me just soak up that sherry...that’s what it’s like. Sherried nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews. A touch of mint. Being cask strength I had to experiment with some water. Water releases lots of vanilla, toffee, caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar and milk chocolate. A little musty, more oak, a light malty character and some concord grapes.
The palate is even more powerful than the nose. Spicy sherry. Raisins, dates and molasses cookies. Orange oil, tobacco and old leather. A bit okay but balanced. Red berries, cherries and toffee.
A full bodied mouthfeel that starts smooth, then turns dry, then hot, then mouthwatering.
The finish is long. Sherry, dry oak that leaves a dusty feeling in the back of the throat, cherries.
This definitely feels like a cask strength version of the standard 12 year old. Strong and intense flavors that demand water. I added roughly 2-3mL of water per 30mL (1oz.) of whisky. Classic Macallan profile cranked up to 11. A good value for money at around $90 for a cask strength Macallan. I still think I would take the 12 year Double Cask over this one though as I like the higher proportion of American oak that is used. Of course the Rare Cask is better than both but who can afford to make that one a permanent member of their collection? Still I have to give it up for this one. A solid 4.25
Cheers
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@LeeEvolved - Lee thanks, but I want to have an open bottle anyway, and the opportunity to buy more may not be here in a couple of weeks. I’ll let you know.
@LeeEvolved @Generously_Paul that Cersei imagery of you two now makes me glad I’m missing next week’s whiskeyfest
@Rick_M you won’t be disappointed with the Rare Cask. It’s a little strong on the cherry flavor when you first open the bottle but it really evolves nicely over time
@Rick_M - I can send you a pour of this Classic Cut in a couple of weeks so you can see how well it hold up against most of Macallan’s core range. I’ve liked this one more and more as I’ve drank through a second bottle. I like it so much I’ve bought 7 more over the last month or so. I intend to keep a bottle of this open for the foreseeable future. It’s that good.
@Generously_Paul @LeeEvolved @PBMichiganWolverine - Still trying to find a Macallan that I “really” like without spending a fortune. I think I’ll break open the Rare Cask tonight and see if it’s as good as Lee says it is. If so, I’ll grab a couple more at $219 that are still available. :)
🤥🤥🤥
Something obviously went wrong when Distiller updated the app. I’ve been hacked!
@LeeEvolved I would direct you back to your review where you gave it the exact same score. Looks like the folks at Whiskyfest will be be getting a double dose of SHAME!
You are wrong. This is a 5-star Macallan. I feel like we should make you do a Walk of Atonement like Cersei next week at Whiskyfest. Up and down those aisles at the festival while I shout SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! at you repeatedly.
@Generously_Paul considering it was a NAS, they did a bang up job on this. And affordable.