Macallan Cask Strength

Good review ... I'm glad you compared it to A'bunadh, which I actually find to be a bit too strong. For the Mac, I wonder if a little ice would be good to temper it?

I'm not super big on ice, but I wonder if a small amount of room temp water would allow it to open up (much like the A'bunadh). Still, sounds like it is worth a look.

Did you try the old version that's pictured, or the new version in the red box?

Hey dbk: Good review! I had tasted this at a Macallan dinner recently. As compared to the others, it was a punch in the mouth! So I decided to taste it again, and the same thing - such a strong start. I let it sit a bit swirling it around every few moments, and reluctant to add ice (I don't like m whisky cold -dulls the flavor), and sipped again, which was a little easier to decipher the flavors. Maybe I was the one being tempered to the boldness of this Macallan! [I also broke my rule of adding a couple of drops of water, which helped me taste even more of the flavor components you had listed above.] There is always a space on my self for a Macallan, so I would definitely add this one.

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I reviewed the newer, red boxed version. A previous reviewer of the same bottle, jwise, also suggested ice, but I have to admit I'm not fond of chilling a fine scotch (much like jdcook and BonnieMac) for fear of masking the flavours and, if the ice melts too much, the whisky becomes overly dilute. Ice can be wonderful in certain whisky cocktails, but I'm simply not crazy about adding it elsewhere.

As I say in the review, a bit of water indeed opened the dram up—undoubtedly, many high ABV whiskies will benefit from this—but I still found the syrupy sherry to predominate over the other flavours. Then again, I am something of a "green" reviewer, and so my palate is assuredly not as refined as some other "Connosrs."

The A'bunadh is an obvious point of comparison to me, but I should probably give it its own, separate review some time in the future. Cheers!

I've always got on quite well with the Macallan expressions but wanted a bit more kick, this sounds like it might suit..

Friend of mine had a bottle of this which we sampled recently; it's definitly comparable to the A'bunadh.

If you still have this bottle, experiment with just a sliver of ice, not enough to chill the glass. Watch the swirl of the whisky coming off the ice, and take a short sip after a minute or two of letting it open up. It really changes the whisky into something divine.

When this second bottle of Mac CS runs out, I'm replacing it with an A'Bunadh just to mix it up.