Macallan Rare Cask

Macallan Rare Cask, NAS, 43 %

Macallan Rare Cask

Today I will review the second whisky in the fairly new 1824 Masters Series from The Macallan Distillery. There are four whiskies in the range; Rare Cask, Reflexion, No. 6, and M. Over the next few days I will post reviews of all four. The whiskies were tested in a half-blind setup; in other words I knew the whiskies I was tasting, but not the order.

The Macallan Rare Cask is a vatting of 256 casks. The casks are a mix of American and Spanish oak. 100 % were ex-sherry casks, with a mix of 1st fill and refill. Here's a bit more detail from Macallan:

Crafted from 16 different cask styles, predominantly first fill, American Oak and Spanish oak of various cask size - butts, hogsheads and puncheons, made by multiple cask manufacturers and seasoned by multiple sherry bodegas to our exact specifications.

This whisky is not yet available to buy in Norway, but it will be released in January 2016. You can buy the Macallan Rare Cask in Sweden at SEK 1999 (2020601), and online in the UK at around GBP 158.

Nose (21/25): Touch of rubber. Faint hints of burnt matches. Toffee and nuts. Soft sherry notes and soft spices. Strawberries.

Taste (21/25): Cool, and rather spicy. Caramel, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts and honey. Robust sherry notes. Quite dry and a bit oaky.

Finish (21/25): Medium to long finish. Sweet and full. No further development really, but the spicy honey feel is quite nice.

Balance (21/25): Honey sweet and fine.

Score (84/100)

Sláinte!
- Thomas