The Macallan

I carried this bottle home in my backpack, from the Orkneys. I knew little about it, other than the fact that the name Macallan came up regularly when discussing malts with the people in Scotland. One day, (well, pretty much when we got in the door)  we decided to crack it open and see what we had. 

The Macallan labels itself as a highland whiskey, from Craigellachie, Scotlaand  It is a Speyside, from the region east of Inverness.

My first impression was that we had found El Dorado. This whiskey was ambrosia. It melted in your mouth like fine chocolate and was incredibly smooth. Macallan Gold was not available in Manitoba - best hide the bottle! I have to say, that even with my uneducated palate, I thought I had found something very special. 

So, as one might do with all rare and momentous things...we hoarded this away for special occasions.

That meant we couldn't drink it.  That meant we had to get something else. 

We had met Jay by chance on our voyage from Ireland to Scotland, and he worked at the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay.  I had never heard of Bruichladdich, and was not aware of the proper pronunciation of Islay (I-La).  So when he spoke of Bruichladdich and I-la, I had no idea what he was talking about.  But he was a good bloke and said it was good whiskey, so we decided to try it.

But we couldn't find it.  Although there was a space for it in many of the stores we tried along the way, there was no stock.  So we checked our local liquor store website and knew we could get some when we arrived home.

Remember, we couldn't drink the Macallan - it was rare and special.  So we drank the bottle of Bruichladdich, Classic Laddie version.  And we finished it off, while the Macallan waited in storage.  Hidden.  While I thought the Laddie was fine, it was no smooth ambrosia Macallan!  But the Laddie was the first bottle that we finished off since we got back from Scotland.

So, we needed something else.  We picked up a bottle of Glendronach 12, because someone recommended it, and a bottle of Aberlour 12 because it was one of the cheapest single malts we could buy.  Now we had a few bottles, and this was important because we could do some comparisons.  One evening, we had some friends over, and decided it was time to do a four way taste test.  Glendronach, Macallan Gold, and the Aberlour.  Of course, I knew which would "win".  (We had found 'Nirvana' after all.)  So there were were, four people,  3 malts and twelve shot glasses I had purchased specifically for the occasion.  Only I knew which was which and I wasn't telling.  We would save the best for last.

So we did the testing, me being confident of the results, and when I hoisted my final glass, containing the Macallan, I had a surprising realization.  It WAS smooth.   We all agreed.  It DID melt in your mouth.  We were unanimous.  But so did water.  There was no guts to it.  There was little taste.  It seemed, when compared to the others, almost....limp.

While I wasn't disappointed, I did make an important realization.  I want something with more boldness.  I actually preferred the Aberlour or the Glendronach.  I now consider The Macallan gold to be a very good whisky, that would be particularly good for introducing someone to Single Malts so that they could enjoy the subtle nature, without being overwhelmed by too much all at once.  In othe words, you would give a neonate Macallan gold, rather than Laphroaig, if you ever wanted them to touch another dram of Scotch.

What I subsequently learned was that these versions of Macallan were their new way of doing things. They no longer defined whiskey by age, but by colour. Hence, this was Macallan "Gold". The colour gold, as opposed to Gold, silver, and bronze…gold being the best. Macallan gold was not available in Canada where I live when I got back from Scotland, but it has subsequently arrived.  So we don't have to hoard it any more.  The new colours of Macallan are Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby (ranked in ascending price from about $60.00 to about $300.00. I paid about 40 pounds for this bottle in Scotland, so I didn't get any bargain buying it there as I would have with some of the malts available here.  I noted, in researching this, that there is also a 1969 bottle of Macallan, for a price of $17,000. I think I would prefer a new car.