Macallan Enigma

The fourth release of The Macallan's Quest Collection, Enigma is one fancy dram. I have to say that i wasn't impressed with the other 3 expressions of this travel retail series, (Quest, Lumina and Terra); but i really think this is the best of the whole range. Entirely matured in european sherry seasoned casks, bottled at 44.9%abv, with a beautiful reddish, chesnut color. On the nose, absolute perfection. Lovely aroma of dates and dehydrated fruits, chocolate bathed raisins, cherry syrup, hazelnut and waffer. Ginger and spices, very winey. Very fancy, after 3 minutes a very herbal note has overpowered the rest of the notes. Sawdust, even some citric appeared: lemon. A second sip gave me almonds. On the palate, it is very smooth, easy drinkable but a little simple. Sawdust, vanilla, red fruits. You can hold it forever. Some mild cinnamon and ginger spices rise after 10 seconds holding it in the palate. Aftertaste is a little bitter. It has a woody profile: oak and sawdust. Ginger. Medium long. Not too complex. Overall, i believe this is a very enjoyable whisky, but it is far from being a fantastic dram, and the reason is that it has this spectacular aroma, out of this world, and then the palate and aftertaste is very normal. It is very smooth, but simple, it has an interesting bitterness that not everyone will love. The box of the whisky shows a tree that has been cut, and it actually is pretty woody. The sherriness is shown mostly in the nose. My score for this single malt is 89 over 100, and that shows you how unbalanced it really is, since it got a perfect score in the nose that wasn't matched by the rest of the criterias.

Nose - Rich balanced caramely/sherry influence, juicy raisins/prunes, caramel, vanilla, hint of dark apple juice, dark dried apricots. Taste - Bit thin initially & a bit drying, light peppery spice, dark stone fruit sweet, dark raisins, tiny hint of bitterness like the stray grape vine stems left on raisins Finish - Lingering dark dried stone fruit sweet, but not overly or cloyingly sweet, bitterness gently fades, very long lasting finish, slightly metallic dried fruit sweetness goes in & out Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - Kind of hate to admit this but this is very well balanced from start to finish. Macallan knows a thing or two about a good sherry cask matured Scotch and this shows it. Nice not too cloyingly sweet sherry influence with what I kind of get to be a toasted cask where I get nice fruity caramelized sugar notes throughout without being too sweet somehow. Very easy to drink with a tiny hint of tingle on the palate. Doesn't taste young, but at the same time doesn't taste like a super aged Scotch either, so I'm sure there's some blend of young and old in this one and it's done beautifully. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not at the prices it's currently priced at

Nose: wonderful and full sherry, seasoned wood side dish. Red fruit background. A splendor, it was a while since I drank Macallan, I missed this perfume. Palate: sherry and precious wood, spicy and velvety. Final: sweet and perfect, not too powerful but relatively long. Unmistakably Macallan. A few degrees higher than Macallan's usual 40 makes it perfect. Great whisky. Rating 5.00 ________________________________________________________________ Naso: sherry meraviglioso e pieno, legno stagionato di contorno. Frutta rossa di sottofondo. Uno splendore, era un po’ che non bevevo Macallan, mi mancava questo profumo. Palato: sherry e legno pregiato, speziato e vellutato. Finale: dolce e perfetto, non troppo potente ma relativamente lungo. Inconfondibilmente Macallan. Qualche grado in più dei soliti 40 di Macallan lo rendono perfetto. Grande whisky. Voto 5,00

Great, more super expensive NAS whisky being released to slowly ween consumers off age statements - it seems as if whiskey companies are working harder on marketing these days to brainwash people using high prices, unknown recipes, FOMO, and fancy boxes. Personally - I won’t be participating in any NAS whisky above $130 whatsoever, but if someone wants to buy me a sample - I’ll try it. 😃 cheers to age statements!

I tasted this on a Celebrity Cruise during a tasting event in April 2019. This is by far the best scotch I have ever tasted! The almond, and floral notes were suttle and the hints of ginger and pear were hidden to me until another connoisseur pointed them out. while Mcallan doesn't advertise the age of this, the sommelier assured us it was at least 18 years old.

Rich and complex - has the premium macallan experience to it. Tried this at DFS Singapore but for the price plenty of others to pick from. Ended up picking the limited highland park 15 cask series for much less and hoping that’s going to turn out well