The Macallan distillery is located at Craigellachie in Moray, part of Speyside. It produces mainly single malts and is the flagship brand of the Edrington Group. While originally aged only in sherry casks from Jerez, Macallan now has a wide range of bottlings in both bourbon casks as well as sherry casks from both American and European oak. Besides various non-age statement bottlings, it also has a stable of regular aged bottlings, ranging from 8 to 30 Year Old, with the 25 and 30 Year offerings particularly prized. The Macallan has gained a worldwide following, with vintage and rare bottlings frequently busting auction records. Unfortunately, this unquenchable demand also gives rise (inevitably) to criminal activities such as counterfeiting, with a recent case of a fake 1878 bottle costing $10000 a dram making news.
This 2018 bottling is from the second series of Macallan's Exceptional Single Cask range, aged more than 17 years in a single European Sherry hogshead (#3019). One of only 302 bottles bottled at cask strength. Living up to their name, these distillates are exceptionally complex on the nose and flavorful on the palate. Only bottled at cask strength, the "ESCs" are rare, beautiful expressions of the pinnacle of modern Macallans.
ABV: 56.1%
Fill level: Good
With box?: Yes