The Macallan Edition Series never fails to send single malt collectors into a buying frenzy. After working my way through the Edition No. 3, I thought it was a good bottle, but certainly not worthy of the hype. Not to be deterred, I've picked up it's successor and here to see how it stacks up. Nose: Sherry notes are abundant. Raisins, dates, cranberry, and fig. Plum and a bit of cola and caramel. Some nail polish (like with No. 3, but not so prominent). Interesting wintergreen note. Finally, I get honey, toffee, and orange citrus. Leather is not immediately detectable but develops over time. Palate: More of the raisin, date, fig, and plum from the sherry influence. Cola and leather. Poundcake. Caramel, toffee, brown sugar, milk chocolate, vanilla, and syrup (not maple). The orange returns, accompanied by some apple. Finally, oak spice reveals itself in the form of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Very similar to the nose, but offers a good deal more depth. Finish: Starts with some bitter orange peel. Vanilla and milk chocolate play together like ice cream cake, a note I regularly get on a Macallan palate/finish. This is brief though--it quickly transitions to cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove spice. Moderate in length. I think I gave the No. 3 a 3.5. I did a side-by-side with the two, and they came out about equal. I can't go above 3.25 for this one. That means it's time to reassess the No. 3... Anyway. Good whisky. Worth the craze? Absolutely not. I'd be quite happy with my purchase at $50. For the $100 I paid? No thank you. Secondary market prices? You'd have to be an absolute fool to pay anything north of $100. They nailed it on the palate, while the nose and finish are completely unremarkable. For $100, I want remarkable. This is heavily factored into my scoring. At the price point, the Macallan 15 remains the clear winner from this distillery, beating No. 3 and 4 by a healthy margin. No. 2 is on the way, and, spoiler alert, it will fare much better than its successors. Good whisky, poor value, misplaced hype.