Macallan 18 Years Triple Cask Matured


”Price Tag”

Whisky Review # 953

Country: Scotland
Region: Highland/Speyside
Brand: Macallan Triple Cask Matured (Fine Oak)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 18 Years
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 43%
Maturation: Mix of American & European Sherried casks and Ex-Bourbon barrels
Chill Filtration: Yes
Price Range: US$ 225-325 (July 2022)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👎 Too expensive for what it offers
Buying Advice: 😀 Well-made Sherried Speysider with only a few flaws

Colour:

Light Amber with Shades of Orange (Natural Color)

Nose:

The Nose is mainly Sweet but a few Sour notes provide some balance. The Alcohol is noticeable and I detect a bit of Sulfur as well. Nothing serious though. The Nose is certainly not unpleasant but it could do with a slightly higher ABV. The Sherry casks are clear but this Macallan is certainly not a Sherry-Bomb. Main drivers are Malt, (Dried) Fruit and Nuts.

Main Aromas:

Sweet Barley, Butter Biscuits, Vanilla, Dried Fruit like Sultanas, Raisins, Dates, Figs, Plums and Bananas, Nectarine, Orange, Apricot-Filled Puff Pastry, Floral Perfume, Herbs Garden, Nougat, Milk-Hazelnut Chocolate, Charred Oak, Cinnamon & Ginger.    
    
Supportive Aroma Accents:

Toffee, Caramel, Heather-Honey, Yeast, Grass and Hay, Bounty Bars, Grapefruit and Lemon, Red Apple, Pepper, Leather and Tobacco. Hints of Sulfur, Rubber and Struck Matches.


Palate:

It basically follows the Nose. It
's a bit on the Thin side though. This 18 Years really deserves an ABV of at least 46%. Bitter-Sweet and Sour notes are in balance.

Main Flavours:

Sweet Toasted Barley, Vanilla, Dried Fruit like Raisins, Sultanas, Plums and Dates, Apricot-Filled Puff Pastry, Milk-Hazelnut Chocolate, Charred Oak, Grapefruit, Orange and Spices like Pepper and Ginger.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Heather-Honey, Toffee, Salty Caramel, Grass and Hay, Red Apple, Dark Cherries, Lemon, Bounty Bars, Floral Perfume, Nougat, Leather, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Nutmeg  & Cloves. Hints of Sulfur and Rubber.


Finish:

Middle-Long and quite Creamy. Bitter-Sweet, Salty and Sour notes provide balance. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. The Bitterness increases somewhat towards the Medium-Dry end. The Sulfur note is more noticeable as well. I also find Toasted & Malted Barley, Salted Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla, Heather-Honey, Dried Fruit Sultanas, Raisins & Plums, Nougat, Milk-Hazelnut Chocolate, Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Red Apple, Herbs, Cherry-Flavored Cough Syrup, Caffe-Latte, Charred Oak, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Pepper, Ginger, Cloves, Tobacco and Leather. In the background hints of Rubber.

Drinking Advice:

A few drops of Water help ease the Alcohol and enhance the Fruity notes. The Finish becomes more Spicy though and Menthol is noticeable. It also becomes quite Dry. I would suggest to add a few drops though.

Rating: 85.5 - Stars on a 1-10 scale: 8 (********)

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

*** Important Note with respect to Rating.

A few of my loyal readers have pointed out that every once in a while my final Rating note does not seem to be totally in line with the written text. I recognize that. When I started this Whisky Blog back in 2011, I was not at all experienced in tasting and scoring Single Malts & Blends. Looking back I realize that during the early years I probably scored the good Whiskies too low and the not so good Whiskies too high. Ever since the beginning I try to remain consequent in my rating, always comparing the outcome to the rating of comparable whiskies in terms of quality and taste and adjusting the final rating if necessary. This might lead to the discrepancy I mentioned before. It would have been much easier if I would have chosen a simple 1-10 rating since the beginning but after having reviewed 950 whiskies it would not be wise to change the system now. I will however from now on add stars on the 1-10 scale so you will have a better idea of what I thought of the whisky reviewed. Please feel free to comment!


Drinking Experience Neat
: Good


Conclusion:

The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid and is located in the village of Craigellachie (Morayshire). The majority of the shares is owned by the Edrington Group. The current production lies at around 11.5 million litres per year. The core range includes a/o Sherry Oak, 12, 18, 25, 30, 12 Triple Cask & Gold, 12, 15 and 18 Double Cask. We have visited both the old & the new distillery and liked the old one better. For some reason I don't like the combination of Modern infra-structure and Whisky. I'm more the Springbank kinda guy!

The 18 Years Triple Cask was launched in mid-2018 to replace the Fine Oak. My sample was distilled in 2020. In the meantime this expression is now discontinued and replaced by the Double Cask version.

This 18 Years is a well-made though not exceptional Macallan. There are a few things that would certainly have improved this Single Malt such as a slightly higher ABV and the absence of the Sulfur and Rubber notes. Personally I also feel that the Wood slightly dominates the Spirit. A few more Fruity notes would have benefited this Macallan. Still, it's a nice Sherried Speysider. It comes at a hefty price though! 

Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                              July 4, 2022

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It’s really amazing that you could taste and identify so many flavours out of it. Even Nougats! Bravo. Claps.

Jan van den Ende said...

Thanks for commenting! Please leave your (first) name next time. That makes it so much more personal. I just love tasting and nosing Whisky. And I'm glad you liked the review.
Cheers!
Jan
🥃

Moe said...

do you think this bottle is worth it for 150 dollars?

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi Moe, thanks for your comment. If you are a Macallan fan I would go for it at US$ 150. In today's world it has become almost impossible to find mature single malts at reasonable prices.
Good Luck and Cheers!🥃
Jan