The Macallan TIME : SPACE Launch [Tasted: #684]

Last week, Martin and I had the pleasure of attending events for The Macallan TIME:SPACE Collection in both Hong Kong and Sydney, as a celebration of the distillery’s 200th anniversary. The events took us on a journey through The Macallan’s storied past, from founder Alexander Reid’s dedication to quality in 1824 to the wartime ingenuity that shaped its legacy.

The Sydney launch event featured tastings of Macallan’s Classic Cut and 18yo expressions, two drams that beautifully reflect the distillery’s artistry. The Classic Cut 2023, bottled at 50.3% ABV, showcased vibrant notes of orchard fruits, elderflower, and citrus with hints of almond biscotti and toasted oak. Meanwhile, the 18yo Sherry Oak has rich layers of dried fruit, spice, and chocolate, a classic Macallan.

At the heart of the celebration was the unveiling of TIME : SPACE, a dual-chambered vessel housing two extraordinary whiskies. The 1940 Vintage, aged an astonishing 84 years, matured in meticulously selected sherry casks. Representing the future, the 2018 Vintage is a youthful 5-year-old whisky, marking the first distillate from Macallan’s state-of-the-art distillery.

Also revealed was TIME : SPACE Mastery, a stunning single malt created from 14 exceptional cask types. This whisky delivers rich layers of dates, pineapple, and coffee, all while retaining Macallan’s signature elegance. Presented in a circular bottle symbolising the cycle of time, the red case, complete with 200 spikes, is a bold celebration of the distillery’s bicentennial milestone.

With only 200 units of TIME : SPACE dual-chambered bottle available globally, the TIME : SPACE Mastery is the more accessible of the two (priced at $2,700 and arriving in Australia in November 2024, with the exact number of bottles produced not disclosed). The TIME : SPACE Collection is more than a celebration of the past—it’s a toast to the future of The Macallan's whisky mastery. 

Having both recently sampled the TIME : SPACE Mastery, here are our thoughts:

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery (43.6% ABV, Speyside, Scotland, A$2,700 / $11,000HKD)

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Colour: Rich honey gold.

Nose (Hendy): A captivating aroma unfolds with a gentle musky scent, with a mix of ripe summer fruits—peaches and apricots—balanced by the sweetness of dates, figs and dried fruits. Subtle notes of chocolate with sweet oak.

Nose (Martin): There's a maturity here that (despite its years) you don't find on the 18yo. Not to the same extent anyway. Deep rich zesty coffee notes follow, rich honey notes, with some underlying milk chocolate and ginger. If you look hard enough, slight hints of tropical stone fruits (peaches mostly) appear.

Palate (Hendy): The palate opens up with soft ginger spices, offering a delicate palate with a touch of gunpowder before giving way to layers of citrus, oranges and honey bring a level of sweetness, with sweet oak at the end.

Palate (Martin): Viscous and mouth-filling, with notes of mature oak, a slightly earthiness (which increases over time), some orange zest, dates, maple syrup, ginger and caramel. It doesn't feel like 43% in the mouth - I'd say closer to 46-48%. Power and finesse here.  

Finish (Hendy): Long and lingering, with a gentle, soft spice and fading into notes of vanilla. It was a good Macallan.

Finish (Martin): Long, quite drying, with hints of oak, some BBQ pineapple, Oranges and residual peach notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 

93/100 (Hendy) 

92/100 (Martin)

Martin's final comments: Having also tried this side-by-side with the 2023 18yo Sherry Oak, I can confidently say it stands well above as a much more rich, viscous, sherried dram with significantly more complexity. It also has those hints of tropical notes shining through which you just don't get on the 18yo (Lead Whisky Maker Euan Kennedy, who presented our tasting, said he finds the tropical notes tend to come through at around 20 years of age). That said, whether the increased complexity and richness (and admittedly, very cool bottle design) justifies the price jump over the 18yo is a personal decision everyone will have to make for themselves...

Here’s to the next 200 years of Macallan.


Cheers,
Hendy.

Glenmorangie "A Tale of Tokyo" [Tasted #656]

Glenmorangie’s recently dropped their latest release - “A Tale of Tokyo”, the fourth in the “Tale of” series which continues to explore the magic of Dr Bill Lumsden’s experimentations, initially popularised by the “Private Edition” series. The series kicked of with "A Tale of Cake" (tasting notes), then moved onto "A Tale of Winter", then last year's "A Tale of the Forest" (tasting notes).

This time Dr Bill has gotten his hands on some Mizunara casks (not an easy task), to explore the influence the fascinating and unique wood has on Glenmo’s spirit, in honour of one of his favourite places (I mean, can you blame him? Japan is a whisky lovers’ playground!)

Says Dr Bill:


“I partly matured a proportion of Glenmorangie spirit in rare Japanese mizunara oak casks, which I’ve been curious to experiment with for some time. The influence of this wood is incredibly complex and unusual; it required balance and softening with Glenmorangie matured in bourbon and sherry casks, and the result is a dram as full of delicious sensory contrasts as a trip to Tokyo.”

 

So...was this a Mizunara bomb like my all-time favourite Mizunara-matured whisky (or its close runner-up), a Mizunara-non-event like a certain blended Scotch with a turquoise label, or somewhere in between? Read on...

Glenmorangie "A Tale of Tokyo" (46% ABV, Single Malt, NAS, Highlands Scotland, $980HKD / AU pricing TBC / £63.29)
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Colour: Orange gold

Nose: Sharp, fresh oak, pencil shavings, orange flambé, flamed orange peel, and some vanilla.

Palate: Youthful and light, with citrus and oak spice, then hints of sandalwood, and some slight floral / herbal notes. Light throughout, with some honey and mandarin towards the end. With some time in glass (and later some airspace in the bottle) the mandarin becomes a bit sweeter, a bit more prominent.

Finish: Medium in length, with a slight oak astringency towards the end. 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 87/100 (Martin). A perfectly enjoyable dram, and another successful attempt at matching up trademark Glenmorangie notes with something a bit left-field. Personally though (and I think I'm in the minority here) I preferred last year's "A Tale of the Forest" (tasting notes).

Thanks to Glenmorangie & Flare Communications for the review bottle.

Cheers,

Martin.

Glenmorangie "A Tale of the Forest" [Tasted #615]

Glenmorangie, much like their LVMH counterpart Ardbeg, have become known for releasing annual special editions that actually have a point of difference to them, rather than just a different label and slightly different mixture of ex-sherry and ex-Bourbon whiskies. For years it was the Private Edition series (Ealanta, Spios, Bacalta, Milsean, Companta etc..) and more recently the "Tale of" series - first "A Tale of Cake", then "A Tale of Winter" and now "A Tale of the Forest".

A Tale of the Forest uses barley kilned with "woodland botanicals" - more specifically juniper berries, birch bark, heather flowers and just a hint of peat. I'm sure I'm not the only one who read this and thought "a gin-esque whisky!?"

My biggest question when it comes to interesting, unusually-made whiskies like this is - does the uniqueness actually shine through in the final product? Can you actually taste those woodland botanicals in the whisky? Let's find out...

 

Glenmorangie "A Tale of the Forest" (46% ABV, NAS, Highlands, $980HKD / $169.99AUD / £62.46ex-VAT)
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Colour: Honey gold

Nose: There really is an initial whack of pine needles and a touch of eucalyptus here. It's certainly an unusual nose for a Scotch. Freshly-cut grass, heather and herbal tea. If you'd told me it was a cask-rested gin, based on the nose, I'd believe you. 

Palate: A bit of the spice from the nose carries through, along with the pine notes. The eucalyptus too, but it's more prominent than on the nose. There's still Glenmo DNA though - soft yet flavoursome with noticeable citrus, vanilla cream & honey. Doesn't feel overly young either - there's not a lot of complexity here, but it's also not rough or under-aged.

Finish: Long, with residual resin, pine and grassy notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100 (Martin). This isn't a hugely complex whisky, but it 100% matches the name and purported character, and it's tasty too. Some distilleries use special release NAS whiskies to hide young whisky that (in my view) isn't quite ready. That's not the case here at all - this feels spot-on in terms of age and "meets the brief" in terms of character.

Thanks to MHDHK for the review bottle.

Cheers,
Martin.

The Macallan Harmony Collection "Rich Cacao" [Tasted #544]

The Macallan Hong Kong launched the first release in "The Harmony Collection" today, a new annual series filling the hole left by the "Edition" series, which came to an end with last year's Edition No.6.

The first release, "Rich Cacao", celebrates chocolate and sustainability through a collaboration with Jordi Roca, of famed Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca. The Roca brothers have been collaborating with The Macallan for several years now (long-time readers might remember our El Celler de Can Roca dinner in the grounds of The Macallan estate for the launch of the new distillery in 2018)), but this is the first major/global release of a whisky produced in collaboration with family.

The story goes that:

"The Macallan Whisky Maker Polly Logan embarked on a unique journey to Girona, Spain, where she immersed herself in the world of chocolate, exploring the chocolate-making process and uncovering the distinctive flavour profiles at Casa Cacao.

Polly worked with Jordi Roca, owner of the famed chocolate boutique and hotel, Casa Cacao and the youngest of the acclaimed Roca brothers. As part of the exploration, she also spent time with master chocolatier of Casa Cacao, Damien Allsop."

..and that on return to the distillery, Polly sought out both American and European oak Sherry casks displaying the most chocolate-like characteristics.

The packaging and labelling also presents a new direction for the distillery, with a much bigger focus on sustainability. The box is 100% recyclable, and both the box and labels are made from a mixture of fibres including cacao shell.

To celebrate the launch, The Macallan held a series of tastings at The Macallan Room in K11 Musea, paired with a local honey-infused chocolate from Vero Chocolates along with a cocoa-dusted orange wheel.

Both these pairings brought out varied and delicious notes in the whisky, but I was most interested to see how the whisky fared on its own, and to see just how chocolatey it really was..

The Macallan "The Harmony Collection" Rich Cacao (44% ABV, NAS, Speyside Scotland, $1,800HKD)

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Colour: Amber gold.

Nose: Sweet ginger at first, then honey. There's that trademark sherried-Macallan note (I call it a slightly "flinty" note, but I wouldn't call it sulphur here) and some apricot after time.

Palate: Initially, a lot more ginger and spice than I expected. Cinnamon, orange, fruity spices and more ginger. Honey, sure, but not much chocolate (at first). After some time, dark chocolate and chocolate orange notes emerged, true to its name. 

Finish: Medium to long in length, with spiced honey and some cinnamon to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. A well-constructed Macallan, true to the notes listed on the box (cinnamon, dark chocolate, honey, dates, vanilla). To my palate, there was more ginger, honey and cinnamon than chocolate, but you could definitely taste the chocolate after time. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes with future releases (though with a starting point almost double the Macallan Edition 6, hopefully not too further in terms of price)! No word on the total number of bottles released.

The Macallan "The Harmony Collection" Rich Cacao is available from 22nd Nov for $1,800HKD. The pop-up experience at K11 Musea (5/F) runs until mid December.

Cheers,
Martin.

The Macallan Concept No. 3 [Tasted #543]

Last year I wrote about The Macallan "Concept 2", a travel retail exclusive launched at a time when global travel was extremely limited.

Fast forward ~18 months, and the next (and final) whisky in the series has been released, "Concept 3" (at a time when global travel is still, sadly, very limited). Despite the lack of travel, The Macallan were kind enough to send me a bottle (part of this stunning kit) so I could try the whisky.

First though, some background. The third and final release in the “Concept” series sees a whisky which “brings together the worlds of whisky and graphic design”, through a collaboration with designer David Carson. Described as “bright & fresh”, the whisky was created by The Macallan Whisky Maker Polly Logan, at a unique 40.8% (because “8 happens to be mine and David’s favourite number”, says Polly 😁)

As you might expect from a collaboration with a graphic designer, the bottle and packaging have a lot "going on" visually, culminating in an impressive AR experience (via app download) which gives more detail on the whisky, design and collaboration via short videos from Polly and David. It's a fun and unique (in the world of whisky) way to add a little joy / interactivity to the experience. 

 

As for the whisky itself, details are limited, but we do know that it includes whisky from first fill sherry butts & ex-bourbon casks, along with "selected refill and virgin oak casks" (no word on if the refills are ex-sherry or ex-bourbon, or something else however).

I never covered it on the blog, but some of you may know I wasn't the biggest fan of Concept No.1 (for me, the "reverse" sherry-then-bourbon cask maturation didn't quite hit the mark), but I found No.2 to be a big improvement. So the big question is, how does the series finale stack up? Let's find out...

The Macallan Concept No.3 (40.8% ABV, NAS, Speyside Scotland, $TBC)

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Colour: Yellow golden sunset.

Nose: Sweet yellow fruits - apricot and peach. Subtle ginger followed by a big dollop of honey, and sweet mandarin.

Palate: A lot of sweetness, with soft peach and pear notes, floral / pot pourri notes, and subtle vanilla hints. There's plenty here to let you know it's a Macallan, but it's sweeter than you might be familiar with (especially when compared with other recent NAS Macallans).

Finish: Medium in length, sweet and spiced (allspice), with vanilla hints at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. A sweeter Macallan, but a well-constructed one and one that I suspect will be popular with a wide cross-section of drinkers. 

 

The Macallan Concept No.3 is available now via travel retail globally. A big thanks to The Macallan Hong Kong for the set pictured here.

Cheers,

Martin.

Glenmorangie's "A Tale of Cake" [Tasted #508]

For several years, Glenmorangie released an annual "Private Edition" - a fun, interesting release which didn't break the bank and you could (most likely) get your hands on. We talked about why this was a good thing for whisky last year when "Allta" was released, and prior to that we covered most of the Private Editions over the years - including 2013's Ealanta, 2014's Companta, 2015's Tùsail, 2016's Milsean, 2017's Bacalta and 2018's Spios.

Whilst the "Private Edition" series ended last year with Allta, you could argue its spirit lives on in "A Tale of Cake" - 2020's Limited Release Glenmorangie. As with several of the Private Editions, "A Tale of Cake" is the work of mastermind Dr Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie's Director of Whisky Creation), and involved standard bourbon-matured 10yo Glenmorangie Original being finished in a new / interesting / unique type of cask - in this case, Hungarian Tokaji casks, formerly holding the sweet dessert wine hailing from the Tokaj region of Hungary. For Aussie readers unfamiliar with Tokaji wines, they're made using grapes infected with Noble rot fungus (Botrytis cinerea), not dissimilar to the Hunter Valley's Botrytis Semillon dessert wines.

As you might imagine, these are pretty sweet wines, and so you can expect the casks would impart a similar profile to the whisky (although Glenmorangie don't specify for how long the whisky was finished this time).

Let's dive in an see then shall we?

Glenmorangie "A Tale of Cake" (46% ABV, OB, NAS, Highlands, Scotland, $1050HKD / $169.99AUD)

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Colour: Yellow gold.

Nose: Sweet* - sherbet, gummy bears, lots of orchard fruits, maple syrup, vanilla and tinned peaches.

Palate: Initially sweet with a slight minerality, and strawberry shortbread, peach tart and a hint of nuttiness. After time a bit of oak shines through.

Finish: Long and nutty, with some residual oak at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. I was worried this would be too sweet for my palate, but I needn't have. It's sweet, sure, but there's plenty of other notes going on, and plenty to enjoy. I'd say on the whole, a bit less sweet than 2016's Milsean.
*Yes I know, technically you can't "smell sweet"...

So, another winner from Glenmorangie. Great on its own, but also worth trying in this cocktail ("Caketail") developed in partnership with bartender Jeremy Le Blanche:

The Cake Old Fashioned

• 50 ml Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake
• 7.5 ml coconut water
• 7.5 ml pineapple syrup [no details on how to make this, but Google has some suggestions]
• 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method: Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass over block/  cubed ice.

Garnish with a twist of orange zest and a walnut.

Thanks to MHDHK who, in the interests of full disclosure, provided this bottle for review.

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #489: Chief's Son The Tanist

When I received a note on a new release from the Chief’s Son distillery based in Mornington Peninsula; an area south-east of Melbourne - I jumped at the occasion. Partly due to the fact that I wanted to find out more about the distillery. Aptly named after the Scottish Gaelic expression of Mhic an Tòisich which means 'Son of the Chief,' the distillery was named after the surname of Chief's Son Distillery's founders Stuart and Naomi's McIntosh.

When Stuart and Naomi founded the distillery in 2013, they wanted to build on their story of chance, risk and passion and history, love and family. Stuart and Naomi have wanted to build on the honour that was awarded to their family 900 years ago for their ongoing loyalty to the Chiefs of Alba (Kings of Scotland). After three years of test bed success, the first commercial batch of single malt whisky was distilled at the current Somerville location.

The McIntosh are passionate about loyalty, the intergenerational, the meaning of their name and the passing of the love of whisky from generation to generation.

At the heart of their whisky making story is their single electric powered 4,000 litre copper open neck pot still. This pot still can be seen standing tall behind Stuart and Naomi in the photo above. Not only is having an electric powered still a unique arrangement, but their positioning of the lyne arm is also interesting. The lyne arm that connects the head of the still to the condensing system is downward facing. This generally results in less reflux and encourages carryover where more of the heavy oils flow down towards the condenser. A larger proportion of the oils, flavours and aromas flow into the final spirit, helping to create a heavier but more nutty spirit - creating their unique style.

Chief's Son uses a range of malt across their core range including peated malt, darker specialty malt (chocolate malt) in addition to the base distillers' malt. Their core range series include three different styles with the '900 Standard' imparting a mix between base and specialty malt (including a small percentage of peated malt), the ‘900 Pure Malt’ switches out the peat for darker specialty malt and their ‘900 Sweet Peat‘, leverages a higher percentage of their peated malt. Maturation of their whiskies is done through the use of ex-fortified wine French oak barrels.

But we are here for Chief's Son new release, the Tanist. Stuart and Naomi wanted to introduce the Tanist into their core range to create a whisky with a broad taste profile and at a reasonable price point. Stuart wanted a whisky that has a soft, approachable, big and balanced flavours. One that has less of the rich, robust characteristics of their core and specialty range. The Tanist is formed through the use of combination of whiskies that have been matured in both ex-fortified French oak barrels and American oak ex-bourbon barrels. The Tanist is a double wooded whisky that uses a mash bill composed of of their specialty pale malt and a bit of their peated malt. Bottled at 43% ABV and sold at $115, it is a rather attractive proposition for an Australian whisky.

So how does the Tanist fare:

Chief's Son The Tanist (43% ABV, NAS, Mornington Peninsula, Australia, A$115)

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Colour: Amber/Copper

Nose: The nose is fragrant, floral and riddled with apple stew, a mix of toffee, vanilla, sweet honey, lemon custard and some burnt orange and cinnamon.

Palate: The palate is soft and floral. Orange cake and honey are quite prominent followed by a mix of spices; cloves, cinnamon, black pepper and toffee.

Finish: The finish is relatively long with caramelised toffee flavour and lots of tannins.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. This is a rather welcoming whisky that you can come back to as an everyday dram, it’s flavour packed yet does not hit you with any extremities. It does remind me of Starward’s Two Fold and their broad based flavour profile. I will do a comparison with their 900 Pure Malt and 900 Standard as well in a separate post to see if the Tanist does contrast from Chief’s Son punchier core range.

The Tanist is now available from the Chief’s Son Distillery door, online on their web store and through selected retailers.

Cheers

Hendy

Thanks to Chief's Son for providing the sample.

Tasted #482: Ardbeg Blaaack (Ardbeg Day 2020)

Ardbeg Day - that annual celebration of all things Ardbeg with fun, games, music, and two limited release bottlings, is upon us again.

There have been some epic parties in previous years (in particular 2013, 2014, 2016 (twice) & 2017), along with some great bar events in 2018 and 2019, but sadly thanks to COVID-19 this year's celebrations will be significantly more...virtual.

Still, that hasn't stopped the distillery from ensuring Ardbeg fans get their fix, with #ArdbegDayLive this coming Saturday 30th May @ 7pm BST, where members all around the world can tune in and take part in interactive activities with a dram in hand. They've even provided a Spotify Playlist for the occasion.

Note: Ardbeg Fans in HK will actually have the opportunity to attend a real, live, face to face event this Saturday at Tiffany's New York Bar...get those RSVPs in ASAP!

Of course, it wouldn't be Ardbeg Day without a limited release Ardbeg, and this year to celebrate 20 years of the Ardbeg Committee the distillery has released "Blaaack", a NAS release matured in NZ Pinot Noir wine casks, in traditional Committee Release guise @ 50.7%, and regular guise @ 46%. Having tried both this week, I can safely say Ardbeg fans should be happy - even those who perhaps weren't so happy with the Ardbeg Day releases of recent years.

Ardbeg kindly sent a sample of the 46% release today, so we could share our thoughts...

Ardbeg "Blaaack" (46% ABV, NAS, Islay Scotland, $189.99AUD, $1,300HKD)

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Colour: Light copper-gold.

Nose: There's a sooty peat initially, but it doesn't mask the rich notes of red berries, milk chocolate, blackcurrants and strawberry jam. After some time, some sherbet emerges, and more chocolate-coated strawberry notes, with a faint coastal note wafting over the top.

Palate: There's a sooty bushfire note, but again it doesn't hide what else is going on - notes of woodfired crumpets with jam, cherries, and strawberry jelly babies. Give it a bit of time and you might find some marmalade (slightly bitter but in a way that works with the other notes).

Finish: Medium in length, with a slight oak / tannic bitterness and an underlying campfire sootiness to the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. I'd say perhaps the best Ardbeg Day release since Dark Cove. Much more composed and mature than last year's Drum (which we still enjoyed), and a must-try for anyone who likes their Ardbegs big on the smoke, but also on the flavour.

No detailed tasting notes for this one unfortunately, but the committee release with its extra ABV is just as enjoyable, with big berry notes shrouded in a sooty peat.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #479: The Macallan Concept Number 2

These are certainly unique, strange and (in many, many cases) devastating times in which we're living. Cities are on lockdown all around the world, unemployment is climbing well into the double digits, industries are being battered left right and centre, and global travel has more or less ground to a halt (for a shocking example of this, the other day Cathay Pacific only carried 582 passengers. Globally).

The spirits industry is of course not immune either, with many distilleries either shutting down, or switching entirely to the production of hand sanitiser (and to those who are also donating it to medical services in need, we say bravo).

I'd planned to pick up a bottle of The Macallan's new "Concept No.2" (a travel retail only edition) on an Easter Trip to Sydney, but with the trip obviously cancelled, I figured it would be some time before I got my hands on a bottle. Whilst this is obviously the LEAST of anyone's worries during these incredibly challenging times, it was nonetheless a lovely surprise when a bottle turned up at my home, completely unprompted, courtesy of The Macallan HK a few days later.

For those unfamiliar with the series, "Concept" is a travel-retail (what we used to call "Duty Free") exclusive series which, to quote The Macallan " fuses the passion behind The Macallan’s whisky making with innovative art, music and culture".

Concept No.1, released in 2018, focused on "surreal art" and saw the typical maturation regime flipped on its head - with whisky spending time first in ex-sherry casks, and then ex-Bourbon casks. If I'm honest, whilst I found it perfectly drinkable, I didn't think it was The Macallan's finest release, although having heard good things about Concept No.2, I was keen to give it a try.

 Concept No.2 (which, interestingly, despite being travel retail only, is available at Master of Malt) takes its inspiration from music (as you might guess from the packaging), and specifically house music, which Whisky Maker Steven Bremner practices as a DJ, commenting that:

“Creating a track and crafting a single malt can take a similar path. Beginning with the layering of sounds just like the layering of different flavours from specific cask types. Each different cask brings its own influence to the character of the liquid, like each instrument, or sound, adds depth to a track. In both cases, we can alter each different element to play up or down particular sounds or flavours.”

In this case, the "layering" is achieved with the use of sherry-seasoned American oak casks, Miguel Martin European Oak sherry casks, and ex-Bourbon casks. So on the surface, a NAS Fine Oak / Triple Cask? Actually on the contrary I found it closer to a Macallan 12 Sherry Oak, albeit with an overall sweeter profile.

The Macallan "Concept No.2" (40% ABV, NAS, Speyside, Scotland, $1,280HKD in travel retail)

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Colour: Mid-copper brown.

Nose: Initially sweet. You get that trademark Macallan "flintiness" (as I call it), sherry-soaked sultanas, but with an underlying sweet strawberry sherbert note.

Palate: Largely follows the nose, with strawberry Hubba Bubba, rose water, toffee apple and almond meal also peeking through.

Finish: Medium length with an almond nuttiness, tart berry notes and slight wood spice hints to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. Not every NAS Macallan is a winner in my books, but this is definitely one of the better ones, and doesn't feel too "light" with a 40% ABV. If you like the typical modern Macallan profile, but prefer your whiskies on the sweeter side, this is definitely worth a look-in.

The Macallan "Concept Number 2" is available at Duty Zero by CDF Departure and Arrival stores in Hong Kong International Airport at an RRSP of 1280 HKD. Australian pricing TBC (although of course it will likely be a while before the opportunity to purchase it arises for most..)

Stay safe everyone.

Cheers,

Martin.

Highland Park Triskelion

It's been a big 12 months for Highland Park, most recently with the Valfather (which we recently celebrated the launch of in Taipei) and previously Valknut, not to mention the latest 50 Year Old and a number of other releases for Travel Retail.

The distillery has released one more for the year though, this time a NAS designed to celebrate "the combined wisdom and inspiration of three legendary Highland Park Master Whisky Makers" – Max McFarlane, John Ramsay and Gordon Motion (whom we had the pleasure of meeting recently).

Launched last month, the whisky comes from first-fill casks (sherry-seasoned Spanish oak butts, sherry seasoned American oak casks and bourbon barrels and hoggies), save for a small quantity from refill casks.

The three whisky makers, combining over 100 years' experience, each had a combined hand in the making of the whisky. To quote current whisky maker Gordon Motion: “It took us a while to agree on the final flavour profile, but we are very proud of the result – it tested our skill set, our craftsmanship but not our friendship!”

Priced at $2,200HKD and bottled at 45.1% ABV, Triskelion is available from the usual quality outlets in HK. Whilst we haven't yet tasted it (but hope to soon), the official tasting notes can be found below.

Appearance: Natural colour, deep russet, clear and bright

Aroma: Seville oranges, coriander seeds, crème brûlée, cloudy honey, lightly peated with a hint of rose.

Taste: Orange peel, apricots, cumin, vanilla and light smoke

Finish: Lingering sweet, citrusy and spice

Cheers,

Martin.

Mars Komagatake Limited Edition 2018 & 2019 [Tasted #473-474]

The world of Japanese whisky is a complex one, filled with delicious drams, yes, but also traps for the unsuspecting consumer. Whilst there are many categories (some of which are explained brilliantly in this infographic from Nomunication), including blends, single malts, single grains, blended malts, single cask blends, and even shochu labelled as whisky, in my view you can loosely bucket Japanese whisky today into three broad categories:

1. "The OG's": The sort of whisky which filled the shelves just a few years ago, but now proves increasingly difficult and/or expensive to find. I'm including in here pretty much all age statement Suntory whiskies (e.g. Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki), age statement Nikka whiskies (Yoichi, Miyagikyo, Taketsuru), closed distillery whiskies like the famed Karuizawa and Hanyu, and even Chichibu single malt (which even though is barely a decade old, definitely falls under the "difficult to find" and/or "expensive" banner).
2. "Fake" Japanese whisky - aka whisky sold as Japanese, but containing whisky distilled outside Japan. Now to be clear, under Japanese law this is perfectly legal (and to be even clearer, many reputable whisky brands do this with complete transparency - e.g. "world whisky" like Suntory's "Ao" & Ichiro's Malt "World Blended Whisky"), but there are an increasing number of whiskies which seem to try to "fool" the consumer into thinking they're entirely Japanese; and
3. Whisky distilled in Japan, yet is (relatively) available and affordable. Into this category falls whisky like "Nikka Coffey Malt", NAS Yoichi / Miyagikyo / Yamazaki / Hakushu (which seemed to be slightly more available on a recent trip to Japan), and Mars Whisky's range of single malt "Komagatake", including the two I'm reviewing today.

We tasted several Mars whiskies back in January this year (with President Hombo-san, no less) and this time around have two limited releases under the microscope - Mars Single Malt Komagatake Limited Editions 2018 & 2019.

It's not often you come across a (genuine) Japanese single malt, released in limited numbers, that you can easily buy, yet that's the case with these two, which are still readily available in Hong Kong (in fact I saw the 2019 edition at the airport last week!)

As non-chill filtered genuine Japanese single malts, bottled at a respectable 48% ABV,  they tick a lot of boxes on paper, but how do they stack up as whiskies to drink? Read on...

MARS Single Malt KOMAGATAKE Limited Edition 2018 (48% ABV, NAS, Japan, 1 of 10,000 bottles, $1,300HKD)
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Originally tasted back in January this year, this limited release of 10,000 bottles was aged entirely in ex-Bourbon / American White Oak barrels, and is said to include both peated and unpeated spirit, matured in Shinshu.

Colour: Light yellow gold.

Nose: Vanilla and toasted oak, slightly smoky toasted banana bread, oat cakes and faint wafts of smoke.

Palate: Toffee and caramel, then some ripe plum, orange zest, pot pouri. With time, some floral pear notes emerge.

Finish: Long, citrus with a floral lingering smoke.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  88/100. A few new flavours discovered the second time around, but the score remains the same. A youthful, yet enjoyable dram.

MARS Single Malt KOMAGATAKE Limited Edition 2019 (48% ABV, NAS, Japan, $1,380HKD)
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2019's release was distilled at Mars' Shinshu distillery and vatted from Bourbon barrels and "several other types of casks" (it literally says that on the box). The exact number of bottles released isn't known, but like its 2018 counterpart, it's a one-off limited release.

Colour: Light copper gold.

Nose: Instant fruit - pear, melons (rockmelon & honeydew melon), green apples and some oak.

Palate: Follows the fruitiness of the nose. Rockmelon, apricot, marmalade, some orange slices and hints of sweet Grand Marnier.

Finish: Apple flan, slight earthy "fruit smoke", peach pie.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  90/100. It's youthful and not overly complex, but it's also delicious and whilst great on its own, I imagine would make a great highball with a slice of apple.


Both 2018 and 2019 Limited Editions are available in HK from AFTrade, who kindly provided these bottles for review.

Cheers,
Martin.

Lunch with a Master Whisky Maker: Contrasting Highland Park's "Viking Legend" Trilogy

Hot on the heels of the Highland Park Valfather launch festivities, a small group of media were invited to lunch at Taipei's Hotel Proverbs (home to the excellent East End bar) the following day, to re-visit Valfather in a more intimate setting, hear more about the whisky from Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion and Designer Jim Lyngvild, and compare and contrast the entire "Viking Legend" trilogy.

..that we could do so over a delicious 5 course lunch was the icing on the cake.

Following a private interview with Gordon and Jim, we took our seats and started proceedings, as we so often do at these lunches, with a 12yo Highland Park. A reliable, solid whisky which always makes for a nice "aperitif dram" at a lunch like this.

Gordon (who joined Edrington in 1998 and worked throughout the portfolio, covering The Macallan, The Famous Grouse and Glenturret before moving onto Highland Park) talked us through the evolution of the series, explaining the close collaboration between he and Jim that punctuated all three releases (summary: they worked together very closely - this wasn't just a marketing exercise), the approach to cask selection (Valfather for example had to be a "lighter, ethereal" whisky reminiscent of heaven) and then explained how Valfather was also the distillery's peatiest release to date. 

Whilst that might seem like a contradiction to some, Gordon explained the differences between Orkney peat (lighter, earthier, heather notes) as compared with Islay peat (smokier, medicinal, maritime notes) and why even though this is the "peatiest Highland Park" to date, it's not going to be akin to an Islay peatbomb.

Diving into lunch, we started with Lettuce salad with Ricotta cheese, Serrano and truffle dressing, followed by a starter of Foie Gras, Mushroom and Fennel, Duck Jus and Peanut Powder. This wasn't a pairing lunch per se, so there were no rules around the whiskies and we were free to explore the Viking Legend trilogy at our own pace.

It'd been a "long time between drinks" so to speak, given I'd first tasted Valkyrie in October 2017, and Valknut in December 2018, so it was great to have them all lined up side by side. I always like it when I revisit a dram a months or years later, and find similar notes as I did originally, and that was the case here, with the stronger sherry notes of the Valkyrie still shining through, the nuttiness of the Valknut again being evident, and each whisky becoming progressively smokier than the last.

Jim Lyngvild (the Danish designer responsible for the box and bottle designs for the Viking Legends trilogy) took the stage next, and gave us an appreciation of Orkney's Viking history (himself having literally descended from Orkney vikings, 36 generations earlier). Whilst Highland Park has at times been criticised for pushing the "Viking story" a little too heavily, and for sure there have been a lot of viking-related releases, Jim emphasised that it's at least a story that has history and meaning for Orkney, and is therefore real and true. It's certainly a lot more than we can say for some of the marketing-driven stories we read from time to time...

Mains were next - and how can you beat a great piece of steak (USDA Prime Grain-fed Top Cap), cooked to perfection with a solid dram? Whilst this wasn't a pairing lunch, for me this was a great match with Valkyrie, with the sherry notes mixing brilliantly with the rare meat.

A similarly good pairing was found in the final course - Flan, Dulce de Leche and Candied Peanut which I found went very well with the lighter Valfather and its notes of apple and toffee.

Dessert was actually served with a second dram too - a mystery Highland Park which we could tell had some age on it, but couldn't quite guess how old or which release it was. Turns out there's a good reason for that - it was a brand new, as-yet unreleased Highland Park 21yo, to be released in Asia shortly. Whilst we'll save the detailed notes for another post, it was a subtle and elegant HP, and well-deserving of a place in the core range.

With drams finished and farewells said, it was time to bring to a close an immensely enjoyable two days in Taipei. With the Viking Legends trilogy now officially completed, we look forward to what Highland Park has in store for us next.

Cheers,
Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com attended as a guest of Edrington, who provided flights and accommodation in Taipei. As always, a big thanks must go to the Edrington HK team, along with the Taipei and Singapore teams for their hospitality throughout the trip.