


There’s also rum and raisin ice cream, butterscotch, rich honey, apple pie, poached pear, and little green, leafy note too. Nose: Earthier and spicier than the 12yo, with dusty cinnamon, faint clove, and a touch of dark chocolate. There’s a sweet nuttiness too – pecans and hazelnuts – but it’s all very light.įinish: On the dry side, with orange peel and freshly chopped logs. Palate: Toffee apples and fruit scones, caramel shortbread, and caramelised sugar. Nose: Very soft, with buttered croissants, warm crumpets, well fired crème brûlée, cinnamon swirls, and dusty oak shavings. Speaking of these releases, Macallan’s Master Whisky Maker, Kirsteen Campbell, said: “Bringing together American and European oak sherry seasoned casks to achieve the perfect balance of flavours is incredibly exciting for the Whisky Mastery Team, and we are proud to offer two new expressions to this distinctive range for The Macallan Double Cask fans to explore.” The casks are seasoned with oloroso sherry for two years in Spain, before being shipped to Macallan to be filled with spirit. These whiskies are matured entirely in sherry casks, with the ‘Double’ coming from the two types of oak used American (from Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky) and European (from northern Spain and the French Pyrenees). The first of these Double Cask releases, as I mentioned, was a 12 year old, and it’s recently been joined by a 15 year old and an 18 year old. Whether it’s the much sought after Sherry Oak range, the Triple Cask Matured range, or the new Double Cask range, they all come with a number on the label rather than a colour.
12 year macallan whiskey full#
We’re now eight years down the line, and we’re gradually seeing a return to ranges full of age statements. Something had to give, and the answer was the introduction of an NAS range. When the whisky boom exploded in the late noughties, they simply didn’t have enough mature stock to simultaneously satisfy demand and hold onto their age statements. As much as I wasn’t a fan of this range, Macallan were simply victims of their own success.

Gold, Amber, Sienna, and Ruby were brought in to replace everything in the Sherry Oak and Fine Oak range right from ten years old up to seventeen years old in order to protect maturing stock.
12 year macallan whiskey series#
When Macallan released the 12yo Double Cask in 2016, it was generally heralded as the start of a much anticipated return to age statements, following the fairly lukewarm reception the Stripper Series 1824 Series received when it was launched in 2012.
