The Macallan Harmony Collection Intense Arabica

Scotch Whisky Review #477: The Macallan Harmony Collection Intense Arabica

Distillery: Macallan.

Region: Speyside.

Age: NAS.

ABV: 44.0%.

Color: 1.5, Auburn/Polished Mahogany.

This is the 3rd installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can check out previous editions as well (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

Disclaimer: I tried this at a restaurant and I didn’t get the best of looks at the bottle, the menu simply stated “Macallan Harmony”. I’m 97% sure the bottle was this one but there is a chance it was the Macallan Harmony Fine Cacao.

Nose: Really intense, though a bit simplistic. Cranberry sauce and espresso beans come out swinging. Volume seems to be dialed all the way up on the nose here.

Palate: A lot less intense than the nose suggests it should be. If the nose was set to max volume, the palate would be set to about a quarter of that. Chocolate covered espresso beans are the dominant note. A raspberry chocolate bar pops up with a bit of brightness as well.

Finish: Starts short but gets fairly long after you’re about halfway down the glass. Here the intensity seems to be cranked back up a ways, not quite to where the nose was but certainly much more than the palate. The flavors are the same, chocolate covered espresso and raspberry chocolate, but a lot more punchy.

Conclusion: Since the end of the Macallan Edition series, I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to whatever else Macallan has been deciding to crank out. I was at dinner the other day and they had this on the menu so I figured I’d give it a try since everything else was pretty bog standard fare. The nose caught my attention right away. The intensity of notes were captivating, even if a touch simplistic. I had my hopes up a bit that this might actually be Macallan deciding to bottle excellent whisky again. Unfortunately, the palate is really, really muted. The flavor profile is wonderful with chocolate espresso beans and raspberry chocolates, but it simply does not deliver enough of it. Makes for easy drinking yes, but fairly boring drinking. The finish does crank things back up again making me think a lot of Macallan Edition No. 3 which similarly had a weak palate in exchange for a wonderful nose and a decent finish. This is a touch better than that but it feels like it could have been an easy home run but instead we’re left with a double.

Rating: 82.

Scotch Whisky Review #477, Speyside Review #170, Whisky Network Review #638

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.

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