Macallan Edition No.2

I don't think this is a fair review. The Toyota Prius is a very responsible car, and I know many people who are happy with it...

@Nozinan sorry, my bad. Did I say Prius? I meant Lada.

@MaltActivist Let us know if it improves after being open for a while.

Hopefully it does not deteriorate further from a Lada to a Trabant.

I thought the edition 1 was rather good. I read the story on the box for edition 2 and took a pass. Chefs should stick to making great food and keep their opinions on whiskey composition to themseves.

@MaltActivist I am sorry to hear that since I bought a bottle on a decision base on other reviews. I now worry about the acrid part. On the other hand, I have found the 12 yo Double cask better than most reviewer so I hope it will be the same thing with this one.

@Robert99 Serge gave it 87 points. My main complaint would be the typically hideous Macallan price.

@MaltActivist Thanks for the answer. I was lucky to get than one with a discount who made it half-hideous. Would you have rate it a bit higher if it had been half the price?

@Robert99 Half the price here would still be $92. What did you pay for it in Quebec?

@BlueNote As long as it doesn't become a Pinto.

@Robert99 I actually don't mind the 12 Double Cask. I reviewed it a few months ago and found it to be half decent.

@BlueNote I actually read Serge's review after posting mine. And while I normally concur with his opinions I feel maybe we didn't quite connect with this one.

I'm going to pull out another dram in five minutes and honestly report if I've changed my mind.

Five minutes.

@MaltActivist Better not make that 6 minutes...and make sure to be honest...

@Nozinan Nope. Still not good. That acrid / astringent palate and finish is terrible. I don't know if there is a batch variance ( I doubt it ) or this is just a bad bottle.

Probably the sanest answer is that Serge likes this kinda stuff and I don't.

@MaltActivist , why do you doubt there's batch variance?

Wasn't the edition one entire batch?

@MadSingleMalt I'm assuming all Edition 2's are coming from the same batch. If there is a variance within that then I'm not aware of that.

Regardless, what I have in my bottle is sub-par whisky. I stand by my statement.

@MaltActivist I respect that you stand by your statement but I'm not surprised that this is not worth drinking let alone what you paid for it. Sadly, unlike @odysseusunbound , you probably would have a tough time returning it...

@Nozinan There's no way I can return it. On the other hand there's always cocktails.

Just batch it with some Port Ellen or Brora to spruce it up. I hear that stuff's spilling off the shelves now.

I’m not surprised by the poor rating. The amount of hullabaloo about this whisky on social media (Instagram, Twitter etc.) was a bit over the top. I suspect this isn’t selling well. A $180 NAS whose biggest claim to fame is an association with some chefs/brothers by a rapidly declining, yet still much-vaunted (by some) distillery. Hard pass. Sorry you had to be the one to jump on the grenade for the rest of us.

Here is my ametur view on the Macallan and Glenlivet problem. Now, I have avoided the new NAS Macallans, I like the 12yo sherry oak though. I did have a bottle of the 'Livet master distillers reserve, and it was crap. Everytime I'm in a duty free at the airport, I talk to people, usually casual whisky drinkers who only ever buy things at duty free.

(Yes, talk to strangers. I'm from the south. I've found other parts of the world look at you weird when you talk to random people.)

Anyway, I always ask them "What scotch do you like best?" 100% every time they say either Macallan or Glenlivet. Not exaggerating. Hardcore enthusiasts like many of us make up a small portion of the whisky drinking populus. Glenlivet and Macallan have probably realised that they can make more money by marketing and charging more for NAS whisky with a cool story to casual drinkers than spending more money by actually aging their product. Marketing these days is cheap ie Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Or they could just be having a hard time keeping up with rising global demand, and all these casual drinkers affect them more than other brands because of their mass popularity. Who knows...

@casualtorture I like that engaging whisky buyers in the store. I do that to at the LCBO. I'll eavesdrop and then save a customer from taking the advice of an ignorant salesperson. I actually uphold the last customer from a pretty bland Dalwhinnie to a A'Bunadh.

This one retails for $250 here in Australia. Sounds rather over priced indeed!

I also picked up a bottle of Macallan 12 yr Double Cask, I thought it was rather nice. I suppose it's possible Macallan had to save face by returning to age statements for some markets. SO they had to make sure some good casks where selected for the return. Could change in a few years if they're less particular with cask selection once the Double Cask is established back in the market.

And what's with getting chefs to select casks? Does not compute. If they want to experiment with people selecting casks why not get people involved in other levels of the whisky industry who can bring some focus on what they do? Coopers, farmers, the humble chap who shovels peat (and knows the finest slice `o bog) - take your pick.

@Frost The only 12 Double Cask I tasted was sulphured. Not a sulphur bomb, mind you. But there was definitely an "off" note in there that I suspect was sulphur. And I've heard similar tales about sulphur and the 12 DC on the Interwebz. But I've heard just as many good reviews of it, so I haven't ruled out buying a bottle in the future. Though $100 seems to be a bit of a gamble...

@MaltActivist & @Nozinan : Ah, I see now. This thing was a single batch. Seven casks according to some rando site that Google showed me. Now I understand. Thanks.

@BlueNote I paid $140 at the LCBO. Still quite expensive, but still $40 less than at the SAQ.

This review is spot on with how I feel/think.

I rather liked it, for what it was. A young gingerbread spicy sherry thing. No bitterness on the palate for me.

Mind you we brought 5 bottles for our tasting. The 4 from the TWE were all fine, but the 5th from another retailer was definitely not. I mean it was fine, but just a little off compared to the ones from the TWE. It's all the same batch isn't it? Is 'bottle shock' a real thing?