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Macallan Gold 1824 Series

Average score from 3 reviews and 6 ratings 74

Macallan Gold 1824 Series

Product details

  • Brand: Macallan
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • Series: 1824
  • ABV: 40.0%

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@conorrob
Macallan Gold 1824 Series

Though macallan seems to fetch incredible prices for its older and more collectable whiskys... I remain unimpressed with almost everything they have produced at an affordable price in the last few years. The 12 fine oak was lack lustre and the macallan gold is no different.

I must say though, the product is presented immaculately. And the cork don’t ‘arf sound good as it squeaks free from its caramel laden bindings.

Nose Caramel with a dash of honey front the nose of this whisky. Followed by a fresh lemon note, apple crumble and custard.

Palate Again sweet and crisp caramel, accompanied by an almost chemical sweetness. Splenda maybe? The alcohol is well tempered and the flavours well rounded. But there is nothing special here. Finally i get bitter sweet gooseberries and a good shot of dried vanilla. The mouthfeel is great, its light but all encompassing and oily.

Finish Honey, vanilla, cinnamon and sweet nougat. The finish holds for a good amount of time and is honestly decent. By far the best quality this whisky posesses.

I love your tagline on this review so, so much.

In fairness, this is a decent whisky for people who are new to single malt. It’s meek and inoffensive. And the price has come down to about the same price-point as Glenmorangie 10. That said, I wouldn’t spend my own money on this stuff.

@vanPelt

My official rating is for the original tasting. (I rated 4 points lower for a sample that had been allowed to oxidize for a couple weeks. Changes are noted below.)

Nose: A young, grassy type of lemon, with equal parts hay and sour cream. Yet a sweetness of brown sugar. (The lemon and sugar disappeared from the aged sample.)

Palate: Lemon cream entrance. The initial vanilla flattens as zest/ginger rises. Green apple emerges with delicate balanced oak, expressed like malty caramel and vanilla. (Aged sample became acrid-- e.g. more lemongrass than lemon cream, more bitter zest, etc.)

Finish: Malty, neither dry nor sweet, with remnant sour apple skins.

Overall tangy with light oak influences. Not remarkable, worsens with time, and is easily replaceable with alternatives. For example, I find it most similar in style to Auchentoshan's Select. It is also reminiscent of Balvenie's 12DW, but more citrusy. Something about the hay and sour cream recalls the Highland Park 12, despite differences. I am also reminded of the higher quality Three Ships 10yo, the difference being this Gold had less less honey/banana.

Macallan's Amber, the next step up from Gold, is also similar. The difference is that the Amber is smoother (less sour) with the drawback of seeming less "lively". (The Amber seems to age less painfully, however.)

If I should recommend the Gold, I would say (1) finish it rather soon, and (2) you should be someone who enjoys "lively" (zesty) malts without much sensitivity to sourness/bitterness.

@talexander

One of the most controversial decisions by any distillery in recent years is Macallan's movement away from age-statement whiskies to no-age-statement (NAS) products. The reason for this is simple, and is affecting many Scottish single malt distilleries: there is not enough old stock on hand to keep feeding a growing appetite for single malts. Macallan is the #1 most highly sought after single malt at auctions, and has achieved a massive cult status in Asia (and elsewhere). Of course you can still buy Macallan 10, 12, 18 etc almost anywhere, but these will slowly phase out, with older expressions reserved for the luxury market. Personally, I find this very unfortunate - good whisky should be well priced for all to enjoy - but it's a business decision I can understand (I believe however that this shift will not affect their Fine Oak range).

And so we have the 1824 Series (not to be confused with Macallan's travel-retail-only 1824 Collection - what, you couldn't think of another name?), four whiskies named after their colour (Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby) and one luxury whisky called M. They are all matured in sherry casks from Jerez and, in case you suspect caramel colour tampering, they are all non-coloured.

The colour in the Gold is, well, gold - very bright and shiny. On the nose it's Macallan "lite" - the fruitcake is tempered by citrus and freshly baked buttery croissants. Barnyard hay. A little oaky with some vanilla, which is a little surprising as this is matured solely in sherry casks. A slight hint of sulphur gives the nose a little more character. Quite delicate, it could use a little more oomph. Water adds a musty element which gives it a little more body.

Things change though, on the palate, and not for the better. It gets a little more sulphurous in an unwelcome way, dominating what is a delicate spirit: malt, dark chocolate, liquorice all-sorts. More vanilla, rather sweet. Lovely silky mouthfeel, but these disparate elements don't harmonize well. Water helps here, taming the sulphur and bringing out more malty notes.

The finish falls apart very roughly - it is quite long and unfortunately not terribly pleasant, too waxy and dusty. I would definitely recommend water, though unfortunately that does not improve the finish. For new whisky enthusiasts looking to explore this iconic distillery, this would likely be their entry point, which is really too bad - this one in particular should be a star, to get consumers excited about this new range of malts. I've had worse Macallans before (and certainly many, many better ones) but it's a disappointment considering the distribution, marketing and importance of this one.

I'm not sure it is sneaky - if there is no age statement, then there is no claim for the whiskies to be older than they are. Also, one thing I DO like about NAS is that it takes the focus away from the age and more toward the whisky itself. We all know that there is a false perception that the older a whisky is, the "better" it is, which is not necessarily true. I believe the colouring of whisky is far sneakier than not putting an age statement on the bottle - and some of my favourite whiskies are coloured.

Having said that, yes I would much rather know at least the age RANGE in the bottle. More info would be better, not less.

GMO labels on whisky would be hilarious. "Hey, it's not genetically modified...but that doesn't make it not poison!" Then again, it's only going to be as genetically modified as the barley (or corn, wheat, rye, etc) that it is distilled from...

Amber and Sienna, though not cheap, are here in Ontario, and I will purchase them. The Ruby is nowhere to be found here...and the M was on sale for a very limited time (and only 30 bottles or something like that were available here) for $5000/bottle. I didn't get one. I know someone who tried someone else's and neither of them liked it...but few of my whisky friends are fans of Macallan.

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