Macallan 12 years Sherry Oak Casks from Jerez
Vol. 40%
Situated near the village of Craigellachie, the Macallan distillery got its first distillation licence in 1824 thanks to Alexander Reid.
When he died in 1847, his namesake son managed the distillery until his own death in 1858. Then the distillery was controlled by James Shearer Priest and James Davidson until it was acquired by James Stuart (from the Glen Spey distillery). James Stuart rebuild the distillery.
In 1892, this old farm distillery become the property of Roderick Kemp.
From 1968, The Macallan is quoted on the stock exchange list and shares were purchased by great international groups as Suntory or Rémy-Cointreau, but also by the workers and the inhabitants of the village. That's why the whisky from the distillery was nicknamed "Malt of the People". The distillery remained in the Kemp family until 1996, when Highland Distilling Ltd bought the shares of Rémy-Cointreau, and later those from private individuals.
In 10 years time (between 1965 and 1975), The number of stills of the distillery grown from 6 to 21.
Maturation happens in sherry casks for 100% of the production, among which 75% sherry Oloroso casks. Macallan uses a traditional barley type, called Golden Promise.
The Highland Distillers group has been acquired by Edrington Group in November 1999 for £ 601m.
The whole production matured in sherry Oloroso casks is sold as single malt, the remaining being sold to blenders, among which Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark, J&B, Chivas Regal, Lang's Supreme, Ballantine's or Long John. (by: www.whisky-distilleries.info)
Macallan 12 yo 'sherry' (40%, OB, 2004)  A second go at this new expression. Colour: deep gold. Nose: fresh and yes, sherried, but the sherry seems to be quite lighter than in the earlier versions – the ones from the nineties, at least. Fresh and flowery. Caramel, pollen, plum jam, cream. Quite nice! The fact that it got somewhat fresher than the old, boldly sherried 12 yo isn’t obligatorily bad news to my ears. Melon sherbet, apple wine, apricot syrup. And, most interestingly, no winey notes, no woody notes. Ha-ha! Mouth: sweet attack, on caramel, tannins and flower syrup. A little weak because of the ABV, but it’s still quite solid. Orange, oriental pastry (orange flower water). Gets a little sweetish and fragmented – perhaps because of the 40% vol again. Medium finish, on sugared water and orange peel. Nice, but I’d really like to taste this one at 43 or 46%. Let’s have just a go at an old 12 yo 43% now…
The noses aren’t that different, in fact, but the palates are so different! The old one is much more sherried, bolder and punchier, and to be honest, simply better, even if perhaps a little rougher indeed. 80 points for the new one. (My score for that old one – probably bottled around 1998: 84 points). (by Whiskyfun.com)
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