Macallan Rare Cask Black

Coming off of the Macallan Rare Cask review, I figured now is as good a time as any to review an ever more special bottle, the Rare Cask Black. This is a travel retail exclusive bottling. Less than 100 casks were used to make this one time only expression from Macallan. From the bottle: "Crafted from predominantly first fill sherry seasoned oak casks maturing a remarkably rare peated Macallan spirit. Hand selected by our master whisky maker from less than 100 of the casks maturing at The Macallan Distillery. An incomparable character, The Macallan Rare Cask Black combines rich intensity with a distinctive smoky flavour." I kept the European spelling because that's how it's written. Bottled at 48% ABV, non chill filtered to the best of my knowledge and natural color. The color is something to behold. The color of dark autumn leaves right before they turn brown, a deep red amber, or dark maple syrup. Truly mesmerizing when held up to a lightly overcast sky close to sunset. Like staring into the soul of mid autumn in northern Michigan. At 48%, this needs a few minutes in the glass to settle down, or you will get a blast of alcohol on the nose. Sherry notes up front, dates, raisins, a nose as dark as its color. Sherried oak and fruits. There is the barest of threads of peat in the background, weaving its way through the nose. Earthy peat, not smoky like I expected. With more time the sweetness really becomes apparent. Sticky sweet chewy toffee and caramel, vanilla and a big maple syrup note. Baked pear coated with cinnamon and nuts. Maybe a faint minty note. Tobacco and new leather appear before finally revealing the faintest hint of bonfire smoke, and I do mean faint. Along with more of the maple syrup, oranges appear close to the bottom of the glass. Like the standard Rare Cask, I could nose this all night, but it is much more full and refined than the Rare Cask. I had a hard time conveying the palate notes, because every time I took a sip I rolled this beautiful whisky around in my mouth and got lost in its elegance. I can say this much though, it is rich, robust and intense. Sweet and spicy arrival. Oak, cinnamon, dates, raisins and new leather. Wonderful. The mouthfeel is oily and mouth coating, turning dry and leathery in a very good way. To say the finish is long simply won't do. It's been at least 30 minutes since I finished my (roughly) 1.5 oz pour and I can still fully taste the dates and maple syrup sweetness. It doesn't just hang around, it rents a room in your mouth, paints the walls, refinishes the floors and hangs pictures of itself for all to enjoy. I was fortunate enough to find a bottle of this Rare Cask Black at the duty free store at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel. I saw the price tag and passed on it several times. After many, many pleadings from my friend Lee I decided to splurge and treat myself to what may be one of the rarest expressions from Macallan in the modern era. I'm so glad I did. It is well matured, and very elegant, with enough intensity to carry the experience into the realm of the superb. At $350 (tax free mind you) for 700mL, this is the most expensive bottle I have ever purchased, but given the chance I would buy another without question. 5/5 and a tear of joy, and a future tear of sadness for when the bottle is gone.

My friend Paul graciously sent me a hearty sample of the travel exclusive Macallan Rare Cask Black back around the holidays. This is a special release that's advertised as combining a total of 100 casks that previously held peated whisky from an undisclosed distillery. I did a little bit of digging and I'm taking an educated guess that the casks used were from fellow Edrington Group-owned Highland Park. Due to the complete lack of peat, brine and smoke I'd also say that are second or third fill. I could not detect a single hint of peated whisky. This was pretty much identical to the widely released Rare Cask (which is still a phenomenal single malt). On the nose, it's tons and tons of sherry and dark fruits, figs and raisins. It's a delight to just sit and nose this whisky. Just about any other aspects that should be present: oak, vanilla, cinnamon, etc are all overshadowed by sweet, sherry wine. The palate is very Macallan: sweet to the point your fillings are tingling. Those dark fruits feel more like a sugary, fruit juice than whisky. It's amazingly smooth with a nice pop of heat at the end from the 48% ABV. It's damn fine. The finish is medium length, oily and sweet. There's a calm, warming that lasts and urges you to take another sip and another sip. So, I did. Overall, I gave the original Rare Cask 5 well earned stars and the Rare Cask Black is just as wonderful, but I have to dock something because I was expecting some sort of peat or smoke to make an appearance and it didn't. Thanks to my great friend Paul for finally giving in to my persistence and plopping down the hard earned money to buy a bottle of this. Even more thanks to him for sending me what amounted to 1/5 of the bottle to sample. I would've never been able to acquire this on my own. Even though I sent him some nice whisky in trade for this, I still think I owe him more. Thanks, bro. You. Are. The. Man. Everyone else- well, I sure as hell recommend you give this one a try if you see if locally. It's as rare as its namesake and worth every penny. 4.75 stars. Cheers.

Continuing on my exploration through some of Macallan’s releases, next up I have a sample of their Rare Cask Black that was bottled at 48% ABV. The nose is velvety soft leading with a mix of musty grapes, tropical fruit custard and dusty leather-bound books then dark chocolate truffles, dehydrated figs, a very light puff of pipe smoke and cavernous minerality followed by black cherries, apricots and orange blossoms that transitions to ginger, cloves, cardamom and polished antique furniture with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy tropical fruits before a mild peppery spice that slowly fades to a mix of musty grapes, vanilla creme brûlée and dusty leather-bound books then a dark chocolate spicy mocha, figgy pudding, light sweet pipe tobacco smoke and cavernous minerality followed by black cherries, apricots and orange blossom that transitions to ginger, cloves, cardamom and polished antique furniture with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with creamy tropical fruits, dark chocolate covered figs, sour cherries, espresso, light pipe tobacco smoke, ginger, cloves, dusty leather-bound books and polished antique furniture. This is a fantastic dram that the nose is a complex and delightfully composed mix that starts on the sour side before veering towards sweet tropical fruits, dusty well-aged oak, along with rich chocolate, berries, light minerality and a faint smoke that carries over to the palate that has a small stumble with a mild spice before quickly correcting course and finishes with a long lingering finish starting sweet and fading into light smoke, spices and well-aged oak. Comparing this to the Rare Cask 2020 edition, the extra 5% ABV bump has really intensified those flavors and delivered an oilier mouthfeel along with a long finish that was lacking with the Rare Cask 2020 and the peated malt provides a very subtle smoke that could easily be missed.

A Mother’s Day enjoying a relaxing day with the wife. Sushi and a movie and now sitting back with a a lovely wife (and whisky). The color is unique: cognac or brandy looking. A deep, dark amber. Sherry rich of dark fruits and mixed nuts. Currants, dates, figs, black cherries. Molasses sweetness or dark brown sugar. There’s a touch of tanned leather or suede. In the deepest depths of the nose there a hint of dampened tobacco. The nose is one to inhale all day. Sweet and deeply rich. The draw on the palate is initially fruity and sweet of fruit juice with spice and oak all wrapped in a medium-leight body. Cinnamon, vanilla, toffee, raisins; all rich and deep. The sweetness is not overt. A subtle non-saccharine dessert. This dram only enriches and improves with time. A long finish that meanders between orange bitters and charcoal. Some woodiness keeps the palate slightly dry. There is a minty quality or sensation when you wait between draws. The challenge for a whisky, in my opinion, is providing balance. Being not too sweet without being overly dry. Being peaty/smokey without dominating. This Macallan has walked the balance rather well. This is sweet but not syrupy. Fruity but not juicy...a true delight. Simply wonderful. @GenerouslyPaul, many thanks for providing the sample. This is one often not accessible to many. Thanks for the opportunity. [95/100][Tasted: 5/12/18]

Sometimes you go in expecting one thing but instead it turns out to take a totally left turn, into something darker and nastier. Not nasty as in “ this is crap”, but nasty as in if the sweet girl next door suddenly shows up in a crotchless lingerie. This is so unexpected. When I was a young teen, I visited my cousin in Mumbai. There was this really sweet amazingly cute girl living across our building, who’s window was only 10 feet away from ours ( Mumbai is crowded). I asked my cousin to play this one Hindi song “meri samne wali kirdki”, which is a romantic song that starts off as “there’s a piece of the glimmering moon living across my window”. Instead he puts on an equivalent of “take it off and shake it, I wanna see it all”. Such a dark nasty turn. Anyway...she closes the window, and that was the end of my serenade. This is like that...I expect an elegant noble Macallan, but instead I get something else, something darker and much grittier. In a good way. I had the regular Rare Cask, but I preferred this one just for that unexpected turn and complexity. Tons of dark fruits, but with a backbone of smoke. Not too much, but enough to make you second guess what you’re having. Thanks to @Generously_Paul for this sample. It’s money hard earned, so I’m just thankful for him sharing this.

I picked another high profile whisky for the official 300th. Macallan Rare Cask Black is a supposedly "smoky" Macallan and that makes it unique. It seems the smoky macallan comes from old whiskies that were stored a long time ago in that distillery. Spoiler alert: it is not that smoky. Bottled at 48%abv, super dark red, old oak color. Beautiful. On the nose it is a Dalmore. Wedding cake, Brown cake, Cherry, Red fruits, Red wine, Sugary notes, Super sweet cant find the peat yet. Caramelized apple, Maybe some dim english sauce which is common in peaty whiskies, Sherry, Blackberries. It is a dalmore. It doesnt smell like the typical macallan at all. Amazing aroma, absolutely amazing. On the palate it is nice, giving you what it promises on the nose: Almonds, Nutmeg, Liquorice, Oak, Sherry, raisings. Figs. Aftertaste has a very dim peat, very tamed, ginger spice, ashes, but very pleasant. medium-short. Overall this deserves a 93 over 100, for a $500 dollar bottle, i believe you can get a dalmore 12 for 60, or a king alexander iii for $150. Slainte!