Soba45
Macallan Rare Cask Black
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
May 12, 2018 (edited July 23, 2022)
I definitely think I've reached near the pinnacle of what Macallan has to offer. This is a very nice dram. Raisin, sherry, toffee, oily beautifulness and more. I wouldn't say however for me it's a 5 star experience. Unlike some of the 1/3rd of the price single cask Glendronachs I've had or the Bruchladdich Black Art 1990 (at half the price) which at first sip I was like OMG this is astounding. The alcohol has a slight astringency and isn't 100% in balance and at $500USD a bottle here its a 4.25 - 4.5 rounding down to a 4 for me.
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Oh and to add once distiller brings in half and quarter stars the vast majority if not all of my 5 stars are coming down. In the words of Vince Lombardi "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" ...and 5 is perfection :-)
@Generously_Paul @PBMichiganWolverine. I'd say even at $350 it'd hold the same rating. I've only rounded up to a 5 only a dozen and a half times out of the 430+ ratings (not all are on distiller). A number of those were in my early days (and the occasional getting carried away) and I'm a lot tougher now. I'd say only several of those or under 2% would qualify now. It generally either has to blow my mind and price is completely irrelevant, have extreme sentimentality or be excellent plus amazing VFM e.g. a Talisker 10 $45USD which has a lot of the third, some of the second and a small bit of the third. Noahs Mill was in the 3rd category and a bit if no 1 $75. Once you are getting to 7 to 10 times the price of those it has to be something out of this world.
$350...to me personally, a good buy
What would your score have been if it was $350 per bottle? That’s what I paid and it’s 5 stars for me all the way
@Soba45. Nice review. I liked this a lot, but you’re right..not willing to pay $500 for it.