Macallan Estate Reserve 1824 Series

The first bottle Macallan I had the 12 didn't impress me that much. It looked the part but just seemed to be lacking a bit of soul.... no complex flavour that made me want to roll it round and round my mouth..and then there was the price point. I sacrificed that to a whisky session. The Estate is my second crack. I had a sip and thought not bad, doesn't blow me away but I think it's one of the cheaper offerings and then saw the price. Whaaat $220USD! The good, niceish mildly oily sherry wooded flavour but fainter than I like and the alcohol just seems a tiny bit astringent and bitter and after a while artificial. Negligible aftertaste. I had the Aberlour 18 earlier which I'm now a bit so so on and I preferred that at a 3rd of the price. I had to triple check that I am actually reviewing the same whiskey as most others rave about it. Maybe a dud sample as I'm not getting much of what cascode and others are describing, maybe the mild curry drumstick I ate prior messed my taste buds or maybe I've just had too many stunning whiskies at a 3rd to a quarter of the price of this one recently to put it in the 4 category. So far Macallan sits along side Dalmore with me, marketing, hype and dissapointment. It's a 3.5 for at best and with the price point no more than a 3.

This is a great whisky. But not only that, the bottle is very pretty too. It has a photo of a galaxy in the label and the box, because this is a limited edition to celebrate Ernie Button a space photographer. Bottled at 45.7%abv. On the nose is very interesting, burnt Caramel, Vanilla plant, Herbal Pine, some of the Typical macallan aroma, raisins, Chocolate with raisins, Cream and Blackberry jam. If it werent so dim, it would be perfect. On the palate it is not that great but still a very nice whisky. Clove, Grapes, Raisins old Orange peel, maybe some cabernet sauvignon notes. Finish is wonderful and eternal. The best part of it. Clove, ginger and pepper. Overall this is a solid 94 over a 100. It is a $500 bottle, that in my books would be fair at $170-200. Slainte!

Nose: Rich ripe plums, a funky sour note, some woody hints and a nutty undertone. Palate: Sweet spices, that funky sour note again (albeit not as strong as the nose suggests), medium body. Finish: Rather long, dry, wood notes, a little hot Overall: So this is rare, doesn't make me wanna go out and search for more bottles. The taste just doesn't excite me that much. For the price, I'd rather get a few entry level bottles from Campbeltown or Islay (granted, different taste profiles, but hey I am the reviewer!). Reminds me somewhat of Macallan's Select Oak. Which is 1/3 the price. Go figure.

Loads of aromas and flavours, nothing that stands out more than the other. Deep amber orange, with cinnamon and ginger. Caramalized bananas with some dried apricots, figs and raisins. Nice touch of orange and lemon with a nice long smooth finish. Excellent!

Better at nose than taste. Flan, pan cotta at nose, not vanilla. More smooth than oily, warm, spicy, better texture than taste. Wasnt stunning. Very quint packaging bottle though. Ginger aftertaste. Black tea, tanning on the tongue

A Very good single-malt, creamy/thick with a strong influence from the Oloroso Sherry casks. Not your typical Macallan ... more like a Glenmorangie 18 (which is half the price and available everywhere and not just duty-free shops).