The Macallan 1824 Series Scotch Single Malt Rare Cask

 Ultimate Beverage Challenge 96 points - A sherry cask lover’s dream! This dram shows incredibly decadent flavors of fruit cake, orange marmalade, baker’s chocolate, and a gentle wisp of barley malt. The mouthfeel is incredibly lush with no hard corners and long finish of dried figs and fresh pastry..March/2017

The Macallan Rare Cask has been created as an ode to beautiful natural color and complexity of flavor that The Macallan is known for. This is the quintessential expression of The Macallan’s Sherry oak tradition. The Macallan Rare Cask is crafted using liquid aged in first-fill Sherry-seasoned oak casks. Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan’s Master Whisky Maker, hand-selects the finest whisky from less than one percent of the casks maturing at the distillery. The result of this scrupulous selection process is a brilliantly rich, vibrant ruby-red whisky that proudly exhibits two of The Macallan’s greatest pillars: exceptional oak casks and natural color, reinforcing our position as the peerless spirit.

Macallan's new Rare Cask uses handpicked first-fill sherry casks from the top 1% of barrels currently aging at the distillery. The result is a richer, darker, more chocolaty version of Macallan with a thicker profile and a complex palate of raisins, sultana, orange peel, and ginger. With the current market craze for first-fill sherry whisky, a la Aberlour A'Bunadh and Glendronach, the Rare Cask represents an aggressive and more modern approach from the typically conservative Macallan. This is bold, chewy, full-bodied single malt that showcases the deep stocks and the immaculate wood management from Scotland's most iconic distillery. It's a whisky that provides a peek into the most choice sherry-aged whiskies currently available.

The Macallan Rare Cask single malt Scotch whisky was introduced to the UK in mid 2015, after being launched in the US in late 2014. It's comprised of whiskies drawn from 16 different Sherry cask styles, chosen by Macallan's Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno. A high proportion of these casks are first fill, and has resulted in a rich, spicy Speyside single malt, bursting with honey'd raisin, root ginger and decadent chocolate notes.