Tasted #316: The Macallan Edition No.2

Late last year we tasted The Macallan Edition No.1 and raved about the value it presented - a brilliant, bold, 48% Macallan for barely more than a 12yo Sherry Oak.

Fast forward a year, and it's back - this time as the 48.2% ABV "Edition No.2"

After last year's sell-out success @themacallanhk Edition No.1, Edition No.2 has just been launched, and I can say it's also a winner! - Continuing the theme of providing an unusually high level of detail, we know this Edition no.2 is made up of 52% butts, 21% hogsheads and 27% puncheons, and a mix of 1st/2nd fill and American / European oak. - Differing from Edition No.1 though, this edition is a collaboration with the brothers Roca, from the world famous restaurant @cellercanroca, who each selected one of the casks (along with Bob Dalgarno, @the_macallan Master Whisky Maker). - We got hints of ginger on the nose on this one, a reasonable amount of candied sweetness on the palate, and an overall level of sherried juiciness we don't often see on recent Macallans (but have certainly seen on Macallans from years ago). A return to the old style? Perhaps not entirely, but a worthy dram nonetheless.At only ~$750HKD, pretty good value too. No doubt it won't stick around long... - We'll have tasting notes up on TimeforWhisky.com very soon. Cheers! #MacallanCreates #MacallanHK #whisky #InstaWhisky #Instadram #WhiskyGram #RareWhisky #WhiskyTasting #WhiskyGeek #WhiskyBlogger #TimeforWhisky #DramFull #WhiskyHK #WhiskySYD #WhiskyFabric #WhiskyLover #威士忌 #ウイスキー #위스키 #WhiskyLife #WhiskyPorn #HongKongWhisky #TheMacallan #RareWhisky #EditionNo2 #RareMacallan #WhiskyLife #elcellerdecanroca

A photo posted by Martin - www.TimeforWhisky.com (@timeforwhisky) on Sep 26, 2016 at 10:24am PDT

Keeping with the theme of the original release, Edition No.2 provides an unusually large amount of information on the cask make-up, which consists of 7 cask types from 4 Sherry bodegas  (Vasyma, Diego Martin, Jose Miguel Martin and Tevasa) - a mix of Butts, Puncheons and Hogsheads, American Oak and European Oak, and 1st and 2nd Fill.

Two casks were each picked by the brothers Roca (of the world famous restaurant El Celler de Can Roca), and the last, a 1st fill European Oak Sherry Butt, was selected by Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan's Master Whisky Maker.

Whilst not yet officially launching until late next week in Hong Kong (although available at most retailers and sure to sell out as quickly as No.1 did), Edrington were kind enough to send us two samples recently, so we could post up our thoughts...

The Macallan Edition No.2 (48.2% ABV, NAS, Highlands, Scotland, $780HKD / not yet available in UK or Australia)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Colour: Copper-amber.

Nose: Bright, fresh sherry. Cardamom. Spice. Cherries, orange juice, some apple. There's no doubt this is a sherried dram, but it's a fresher sherry. The flintiness evident on some Macallans is relatively subdued.

Palate: Relatively juicy, rather than drying. Is this a return to the days of old school Macs? Well let's not go too far, but there's definitely a slight hint of "old style Macallan" in there. Big berry notes, almonds, ginger, more apple and a touch of vanilla.

Finish: Long, with hints of ginger and a residual sweetness, with the slightest hint of oak spice at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  92/100. Another  fantastic dram, and one that shows a slight, slight hint to the juiciness of some Macallans of old (like the brilliant 10yo Cask Strength) - which is a very good thing indeed! Complex and delicious, and most definitely not a one-dimensional "sherry bomb".

Cheers,
Martin.