Scottish Whisky

The Macallan Terra

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Macallan Terra
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43.8% ABV
$165-$180
Website
The Macallan Terra

What the Distillery Says

– The Quest Collection –
Each single malt within the range is an exploration of flavor and texture, from vibrant and fresh through to rich and intense, concluding with a whisky that signifies the essence of The Macallan. The Macallan Terra represents the story of discovery in the Quest Collection journey in this balanced and complex whisky.

A complex, yet balanced single malt, with a distinctive character of toffee, sweet dried fruit and rich wood spices.

A DEFINING MOMENT
The Macallan Terra tells the story of discovery through a complex, yet balanced single malt, aged in exclusively selected first fill sherry-seasoned oak casks, whose journey spans 10,000 miles.

Matured exclusively in first-fill European and first-fill American oak casks sourced from two of the most distinguished family cooperages, The Macallan Terra honours the very best of sherry seasoned oak from both continents. Celebrating the wonders of spirit maturation this is a whisky with a distinctive character of toffee, sweet dried fruit and rich wood spices, that reveals the intensity of first-fill oak that inspires our quest.

Displaying the bark of the oak tree, The Macallan Terra marks the discovery of the journey, grounded in a defining moment.

THE EXPERIENCE
COLOR: Sunset Orange
NOSE: Dried fruits are tempered by lemon zest, toffee and light ginger. Aged oak rises.
PALATE: Sweet dried fruits, subtle tones of ripening apple. Heavy and fresh on the palate.
FINISH: Medium length. Dried fruit and wood spices.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, thick dark fruits with some lighter notes of lemon, caramel, meaty notes of boiled cabbage and tobacco.
Palate:  Sweet and fruity with apples and citrus notes, a spicy zip, savory notes with cloves and sultanas.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with plums and spices.
Comments:  Another very nice dram – a bit more vegetal and earthy compared to The Macallan Edition No. 2, but not a departure from the style of Macallan. Rather enjoy that difference, and think I’d prefer this over that – although not sure I like this enough to fork over the asking price.

Rating: Stands Out

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The Macallan Edition No. 2

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Macallan Edition No. 2
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

48.2% ABV
$120-$150
Website
The Macallan Edition No. 2 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

– The Edition Series –
A unique selection of oak cask styles are combined to yield a new limited edition expression each year. A characterful single malt, Edition No. 2 showcases our extraordinary commitment to sourcing and selecting only the very best oak casks for The Macallan.

Four extraordinary characters, one exceptional single malt.

DEEP AND RICH
A creative collaboration between our Master Whisky Maker and the three Roca brothers – co-founders of world-renowned restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca – Edition No. 2 unites these four masters in one spirit.
The distinctive and dynamic character of Edition No. 2 has been shaped not only by the use of seven exceptional oak cask types from four different bodegas but by the creative spirit of each of the four collaborators; combining flavors to reflect each of their distinctive personalities in the resulting whisky.

THE EXPERIENCE
COLOUR: Golden Syrup
NOSE: Treacle, ginger, toffee apples and rich fruits. Layers of vanilla open into tropical fruits and subtle green wood.
PALATE: Warm with spice as cracked black pepper and cloves join with hints of chocolate, brown sugar, oak and nuts. Finally, liquorice and brandy snaps come through.
FINISH: Full, slow, warm and wonderfully viscous.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Thick sherry, stewed dark fruits, musty spice, oak, sandalwood, fruit cake, dulce de leche, hints of apple and leather.
Palate:  Sweet with sherried fruit, honey, vanilla, clove, cinnamon, cocoa, oak, bit of pepper and anise.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with chocolate, raisins and sherry.
Comments:  A nice dram – fully of sherried fruit but also a fair amount of spice notes. Well balanced overall, and what you’d come to expect from. I tried this along side The Macallan Terra, and found this to be sweeter (but unfortunately didn’t have any more readily available Macallan on hand for a side by side).

Rating: Stands Out

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Oban 18 Year Old Single Malt

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Oban 18 Year Old
West Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

43% ABV
$120-$140
Website
Oban 18 Year Old West Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

An elegantly matured single malt that balances opulent fruit flavours with rich peat smoke and spicy wood, culminating in a long, smooth, finish.

PALATE: Mouth-filling sweetness tempered with smoked malt dryness.
SCENT: Peat smoke and spicy wood with notes of ripe banana, pear, and plum.
FINISH: Long and sweet. Hints of dark chocolate and salted caramel.
BODY: Medium bodied and rich with good legs.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Fruit salad with poached pears, apples, apricots, nectarines, heather, wisp of earthiness, sandalwood and leather.
Palate:  Sweet entry with fruit notes, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper spice followed by peat and soft oak.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with peat, dried fruit and pepper.
Comments:  A very nice and enjoyable pour! Fruity, balanced with a bit more peat on the palate than on the nose. At $120 locally, a quite reasonably priced aged single malt although not sure I’d spend a lot more than that. Water thickens it a bit and tamps some of the pepper spice edge.

Rating: Stands Out

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Compass Box Magic Cask

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Magic Cask
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$175-$185
Website
Compass Box Magic Cask Blended Scotch Whisky

What the Blender Says

A precocious whisky from a magic cask.
When we began a maturation trial in 2016, we hadn’t expected the whiskies to develop such deliciousness in so short a period of time. One-year-old malt spirit, made at a Speyside distillery famous for the robust character of its whiskies, was re-racked into first fill Oloroso-seasoned butts. Sampling them three years later, one particular cask – #2 – proved so compelling that we began to experiment.

A parcel of first fill Bourbon barrels containing whisky from the now closed Imperial Distillery had sat in our sample library for some years. Though delicious in its own right, as whiskymakers we couldn’t hit on the ideal match. The much younger malt whisky from the Oloroso-seasoned cask proved the ideal means to deepen the fruity and creamy profile of this rare parcel.

Magic Cask is perfect for those who appreciate lush fruitiness and fullness of body in their malt whiskies. Pour Magic Cask after dinner and savour its medley of autumn fruits and dark chocolate.

The ten Oloroso butts from which the “magic cask” emerged were sourced from Bodega José y Miguel Martín (J&MM). We requested a grade of American oak that would deliver moderate tannin and – for this parcel – a gentle seasoning process with Oloroso wine. Masters of their art, J&MM could dial up just the right levels of sweetness, tartness and spiciness, ensuring that cask #2 in particular delivered everything we desired from a Sherry cask.

TECHNICAL DETAILS: Natural colour | Not chill-filtered | Bottled March 2020 | A limited edition of 5,538 bottles

LEAD WHISKYMAKERS: John Glaser and James Saxon.

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Aromas of marmalade and chai tea spices, with hints of plum. Ripe, golden dessert apples dominate the luscious palate, supported by an oaky richness. Flavours of toffee and cocoa powder are also conjured up.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, bright fruit notes of apple and kiwi, orange marmalade, honey, vanilla, a note of cedar.
Palate:  Rich and creamy with apples, pears, peaches, toasted oak, milk chocolate, hint of raisins, toffee and light caramel.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with apples, honey and toffee.
Comments:  Classic Compass Box. Elegant, rich and well balanced. When I first tried, I thought it was a bit light but it unveiled more nuance in each subsequent sitting. I’m unfamiliar with the now closed Imperial distillery’s single malt, but this is fairly nuanced and gentle. A bit of water (not too much) coaxes out the fruit and caramel notes, as well as letting sit in the glass. I’m pretty impatient, so I hate to admit that letting a pour like this sit for 10-15 minutes BEFORE nosing it makes a difference – but it does.

Rating: Must Try

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Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas
Blended Grain Scotch Whisky

53% ABV
$170-$180
Website
Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas Blended Grain Scotch Whisky

What the Blender Says

Hedonism Felicitas pays tribute to the whisky that launched our business 20 years ago. ‘Felicitas’, meaning a particularly productive or happy state, seemed apt when reflecting on such a milestone.

This latest special Limited Edition is intended to convey the good fortune and happiness we feel, having met and worked with so many remarkable people during our first two decades. As a celebration of this important anniversary, this whisky is for them.

The largest single component was distilled in 2001 at the Port Dundas Distillery and is full of wood spice, toffee and honey. A third of the recipe was made in the 1980s at the Strathclyde Distillery, providing vanilla cream and orchard fruit notes. Barrels filled with spirit from the North British Distillery in the 1990s complete the recipe and lend passion fruit and cardamom notes.

Hedonism Felicitas is at once vibrant and stately: the higher bottling strength concentrates its luscious depths without any loss of the disarming gentleness for which aged grain whisky is rightly praised.

TECHNICAL DETAILS: Natural colour | Light 5 micron filter, not chill-filtered | July 2020 | A limited edition of 2,226 bottles

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Creamy coconut intertwines with notes of caramel, vanilla and almond. Apple and greengage add a delicious weight with a soft finish packed with creamy toffee.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich and creamy, freshly baked cheese Danish, caramel, raw honey, tropical fruit, nougat, nutmeg, exotic wood and floral perfume.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, apple Danish, gentle baking spics, toffee, hazelnuts, coconut macaroons.
Finish:  Long, thick with vanilla, light caramel and slowly drying.
Comments:  Hedonism is a bit of a delicate dram, as you’d expect with grain whisky – so I appreciate the higher ABV on this one. This definitely takes Hedonism up another level, and I couldn’t shake the thoughts of freshly baked pastries (more cheese Danish on the nose and apple on the palate). Takes water like a champ, but doesn’t need it. Absolutely delicious neat.

Rating: Must Try

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