Macallan 12 holds a special place in my collection. Whenever someone says they don’t like scotch, I have them try two things: (1) Macallan 12, and (2) the peatiest, grimiest, most godforsaken bottle of liquid tar I happen to have. If they don’t like either, I congratulate them on a financially prudent aversion.
About the Bottle:
For me, the very essence of Macallan 12 is summed up by a singular experience: when I was first getting into whisky, I went to a restaurant with a scotch enthusiast. With this hobby, there’s a wide spectrum of obsessive compulsion and fiscal depravity out there. Suffice it to say that this guy was off the deep end.
When the waitress asked what I wanted to drink, I asked for a Macallan.
“Really?” my friend asked. “Macallan? You can do better than that!”
“All right,” I told the waitress. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”
He grabbed the drink menu and squinted his way down it. Twice it seemed like he was about to order, before hesitating and going back to the menu. Eventually he closed it and sighed. “We’ll have two Macallans.”
Nose:
Deep and rich. There’s something distinct about the nose that I associate exclusively with Macallan. Hard to describe, but it’s almost like an oatyness that I haven’t gotten from other sherried scotches.
Taste:
Sweet and round. It’s not thin, but it’s not as thick or rich as its nose would lead you to think. That distinct oatyness carries through in taste, but not quite as strong.
Finish:
Short to medium. It almost finishes on a bitter note, but not quite.
Bottom Line:
8/10. It’s not my favorite scotch, but it’s unique, readily available, and I’ll always have a bottle on my shelf. It’s sweet, easy to sip, and the nose is just fantastic. I almost like smelling this stuff more than drinking it. The nose, and to a lesser extent the taste, has a profile I haven’t found in other bottles.
Final Thoughts:
Macallan gets a lot of flak for being overhyped and overpriced. “There are better scotches for cheaper” is a common refrain. There’s elements of truth to that, but I think it’s misleading. While it’s true you might find scotches of equivalent or better quality than Macallan for cheaper, you probably won’t be able to replicate Macallan for cheaper.
That’s because “quality” and “uniqueness” are two completely different things. A scotch can be good, unique, both, or neither. Whether Macallan is “good” is a matter of personal preference, but it’s hard to argue that it’s not “unique.”
So if you’re a sucker for those distinct Macallan notes, you’ll be a sucker paying Macallan prices. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m one of those suckers.
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