Macallan Double Cask Gold

I never got around to this while it was still in production, but was lucky enough to find on a shelf years later. This may have been a waste of money, but as a completionist, I just couldn’t resist. It may be gone, but this bottling kickstarted the Double Cask line, and I guess that’s reason enough to be interested for me. Nose: Milk chocolate, vanilla, toffee, and caramel. Toasted almond. Peanut butter cookie. Pencil shavings. Sprite. Orange citrus. Gala apple, pear, apricot, and golden raisin. Plum, date, and fig. Honey and butterscotch. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Mild green, young notes sprinkled in that indicate youth, with some more floral, refined ones mixed in. Palate: Velvet and leather. Orange citrus. Butterscotch, honey, caramel, vanilla, sugar cookie, and toffee. Especially the first two. Toasted almond. Pencil shavings. Apple, pear, and apricot. Heavy on the plum, raisin, fig, and date. Pipe smoke and cocoa. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg,and oak. Finish: Plum, raisin, date, and fig. Fig Newton, even. Orange citrus. Cocoa. Milk chocolate, vanilla, and toffee. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. This is surprisingly good. I can’t imagine it’s too much younger than their 12-year Double Cask. This seems to be the replacement for the 10-year, and now there is a vacuum in that place. Or, more likely, this was just younger stock that was eventually to become the DC. If that’s the case, this was a trial run and its discontinuation is logical. Now, I enjoyed this. It abides by all the rules of the Macallan DC series. In hindsight, it’s not groundbreaking, but at the time of its inception, it was a unique and worthwhile undertaking. I dropped a $100 on this, but like I said, I paid a premium for my curiosity. Retailers know when they’ve got something you can’t buy anymore, and therefore, I won’t be too harsh on this because it was a ~$50 in its day. But, 40% NAS does hurt this a little. 3/5 feels fair. Docking a quarter start on value. Glad I grabbed it though.

A NAS alternate version of the double cask expression (the other one is a 12yo); and obviously a younger Macallan that is actually a good option for only $45. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose, your typical macallan; the almost cliche chocolate, dulce de leche, snickers, milky way and butterfinger, BUT the herbal notes here are almost non-existing leaving an acetone/alcohol note which is actually not un-pleasant. On the palate it is a little rough but mantains the toffee and nuttiness of the 12yo, but it definitively feels younger. Clove aftertaste, short. Overall this is a cheaper, but not so different in flavor and aroma, expression to the 12yo, it deserves at least a 76 over 100.

Light and floral upfront. The first thing you notice is how sweet this whisky is, you can taste the sherry influences, but the main takeaway is sweetness. There’s a lot of vanilla and a little dark chocolate as the flavours develop. The medium short finish is still sweet and slightly spicy. Overall, this is not very complex or nuanced. It’s sweet, sherried and with a good amount of vanilla. An easy to drink and very accessible dram.

Nose: Milk chocolate, dark red cherries, ginger and nutmeg. Palate: mild spices, bitter sweet fruits, malty vanilla. Finish: Short duration with a sherry dryness, chocolate covered raisins and a final note of waxy walnuts. Overall: Previously the 1824 Gold, now re-branded as the Double Cask Gold, this is a NAS bottle and unfortunately it shows. If your mind’s set on a Macallan, pay a bit over and get the Double Cask 12 Year.

Notes of toasted butterscotch and lemon on the nose, subtle and hidden hint of oak and leather. Entry is very rounded and smooth with no burn and a nice layering of oak, toasted nuts without being overly sweet with honey and lemon taking the backseat. Midway through a mild hint of burn develops with a sort of dry woodsy finish which isn’t all that appealing.

Nose: I get dark fruit and mustiness. It is almost like a wine smell. Dark chocolate and spice. 2/5 Palate: Kind of thin. The sherry influence is definetly present. Ripe fruits, spice, chocolate and a bit leathery. Not bad. 3/5 Overall note: 2.5 /5