Review #5: The Macallan Classic Cut

Distillery: Macallan

ABV: 58.4% NCF(?)

Age: NAS

Price: $100

Color: 1.7 Burnt Umber

Nose (according to the wife): Lots of aged wood and honey with some vanilla. There is a trace of the Japanese black sugar candies smell similar to in Edition No. 2.

Palate: Flavor profile is fantastic. The sweetness you expect out of a sherried dram with plenty of honey and vanilla. Tad bit of citrus in here as well. There is a trace of the black sugar candy (probably molassases/treacle) as well. It does feel very thin in the mouth though, which was a bit of a surprise.

Finish: The finish is very warm and creamy. You get some more honey and then some spiciness similar to young wine in fresh oak. The length of the finish was a bit puzzling to me, it seemed to vary with very sip I took with some being longer and others being (disappointingly) short.

Conclusion: Overall, I walk away with some similar thoughts as I did from Edition No. 2. This is a pretty good whisky but one that I think could’ve been a lot more than pretty good. If I had to guess, I would say it did get to age a little longer than Edition No. 2 did but still not quite long enough. If the finish were a tad better, I would say this would be in the “amazing, near perfect territory”.

Final Score: 84

Scotch whisky review #5, Speyside review #4, Whisky Network Review #5

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.

Originally reviewed Feb. 23, 2018.