Style: Citrus, Malty and Oaky
Nose:
Sweet malt syrup trickling down at the front, Tropicana orange juice injected with a fresh grassy breeze, while chilli spice floating on top of the surface. Clean malty aroma we have here. Ink sinks into lightly toasted oak, pretty nice depth.
Palate:
The sweet citrus-malt theme continues on the palate. Tannic oak arrives earlier than expected, while fresh grassy notes chiselled into the spirit. Spearmint jumps high together with pine overtone. Dry barley kicks in and lemon drops bouncing off it. Finish with polished timber notes, a decent palate, but the bitterness is slightly over the edge.
Finish:
Brimming with tropical fruits, faint cedar wood smoke follows through. Quite nice.
Thoughts:
My first Bourbon cask (I am 99% sure) Macallan, it is a very different malt compared to the traditional sherried ones. The clean, grassy and malty DNA in the distillate becomes even more apparent in the eyes without the sherry elements in the picture. It is still good, but it feels a little bit… funny, like a piece of puzzle is missing. Maybe Macallan’s distillate is designed for sherry cask maturation after all. Slightly constrained and overoaked, but overall still a decent enough dram.
☆ [Recommended]
[54.4% • Independent Bottling • Single Cask • 1989 Distilled • 2014 Bottled • Cask Strength • Non Coloured • Non Chill Filtered • 5 of 198 Bottles • *-]
–Esmond
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