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.

Halcyon Spirits 30yo Single Cask 1993 Macallan [Tasted #646]

Whilst this blog may feature a lot of "OB" whisky, you only need to see my Instagram stories on any given day to know I'm a fan of Independently Bottled whisky...to the extent that it probably makes up 80% of what I drink these days.

I have my favourites of course, but I also love trying whiskies from new "Indies" on the market - no easy feat, considering the difficulties in obtaining quality casks these days. Heck, the scene has changed so much that even IB stalwart Gordon & MacPhail recently announced their intention to cease independent bottling!

I was recently contacted about a new Scotland-based Independent Bottler, Halcyon Spirits, family-owned and based in Aberdeenshire. Founded by Daniel & Craig Milne (responsible for both Whisky Hammer & Still Spirit, now 49% owned by HK-based Rare Whisky Holdings) the bottler has a warehouse of over 2,000 casks which presumably means we'll be seeing many more bottlings to come.

Kicking things off with a bang, Halcyon released their first bottling in June - none other than a 30yo 1993 vintage single cask Macallan (from a First Fill Sherry cask no less).

Bottled by Halycon at a cask strength 49.8% ABV, the whisky comes in at £2,950 per bottle, with only 238 bottles available here (at the time of writing, there were only 97 remaining). As nice touch, Halcyon Spirits will also fund the planting of ten trees for every bottle sold, meaning this inaugural release will result in 2,380 trees being planted.

Described by David Robertson (former Macallan Master Distiller) as “a superb example of a well matured Spanish oak sherry vintage whisky", I was fortunate enough to receive a sample from the folk at Halcyon so I could share my own thoughts.

As a side note, when I taste samples I'll often taste half, then come back to the other half a little later and see how it's evolved. This time "a little later" became several weeks, and it was interesting to see how the whisky evolved over that time, with the breathing space adding an extra (positive) dimension the second time around, despite the sub-50% ABV.

Halcyon Spirits "Halcyon Release #1" Macallan Aged 30 Years (49.8% ABV, Single Malt, 30yo, 1 of 238 bottles, Scotland, £2,950)

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Colour: Deep Ruby-Copper

Nose: Fresh sherry and oak, with a good whack of maltiness. There's "old sherry wood" complexity here, but accompanied by the freshness and vibrancy of a younger dram too. After time, I found hints of coffee grounds, dates, and an unusual (but welcome) herbal note, along with some maple syrup.

Palate: Initially, big fruit - not the spicy, nutty oak that the colour and nose suggested, but more strawberry gum(!) and interestingly, Eucalyptus! I spoke to a few other bloggers who found it a touch soapy, but for me it was more Eucalyptus (my Aussie upbringing perhaps?) 

After another 10-15min, some trademark sherry notes started to emerge - cigar box, toffee, cinnamon, caramel, but still with an underlying Eucalypt / herbal note, and after a few weeks, more of a rounded, caramel malt note. Not exactly what I was expecting, but certainly enjoyable, and isn't uniqueness the whole point of a single cask anyway?

Finish: Long, warming oak with slight tannins only towards the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100 (Martin). A very solid showing for the first bottling from a new bottler (although clearly one with history and experience in the industry). Really looking forward to seeing what they release by way of future bottlings.

A big thanks to Halcyon Spirits & WSW for the sample.

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.

Macallan Edition No.6 Hong Kong Launch [Tasted #499]

The Macallan "Edition" series has become a pretty monumental one for the whisky collecting community. What started 6 years ago with a ~$700HKD release (which some instantly dismissed as just another NAS) has gone onto become a highly sought-after series, with Edition No.1 now fetching almost $13,000HKD at auction (more importantly though, it was a good whisky).

The events hosted by Edrington HK have been equally monumental too, in particular the Edition No.2 launch dinner at VEA, Edition No.3 launch party with Roja Dove & Edition No.4 lunch to celebrate the new distillery (my luck ran out with Edition No.5 - I was out of town).

..and then just a few weeks ago, the party came to an end, with the launch of Edition No.6.

Celebrating the River Spey, which runs through the distillery estate and serves as the water source for all Macallan whisky, Edition No.6 was launched in HK at a series of lunches and dinners held at K11 Musea. Hosted by the ever-knowledgable Patricia Byott (Brand Ambassador for The Macallan HK and Macau), the aquatic-themed room saw diners at appropriately socially-distanced tables enjoy a 4 course meal paired with, for a change, three cocktails (all made with Edition No.6), followed by a neat serving of Edition No.6. 

With dishes including Scallop, Sea Bass and Crab, there was a clear theme to the event, which was further emphasised when the neat drams of Edition No.6 were handed out, and the curtains opened to reveal a fishing set up on the "banks" of Victoria Harbour.

 

As per tradition, The Macallan give a little more detail on the box for Edition No.6 than most of their core range, so we know that this release is comprised of a number of cask styles including:

• American Oak Tevasa butts
• Euopean Oak JMM hogsheads
• European Oak Tevasa butts and hogsheads
• European and American Oak refill butts; and
• American Oak Vasyma butts

(Butts make up 74% of the whisky, hogsheads the other 26%)

Bottled at 48.6% ABV, the whisky retails for $1,103HKD and is available now. Whilst the exact outturn isn't known, with 393 casks in the vatting, this release seems to be a bit smaller than the previous releases, with the exception of Edition No.1 and perhaps No.2. If you're thinking of grabbing one, probably best to do so sooner rather than later.

 

The Macallan Edition No.6 (48.6% ABV, NAS, Speyside, $1,103HKD)

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Colour: Caramel gold.

Nose: Ginger, orange, notes of oak, raisins and dark chocolate. So far, so good!

Palate: Rich creamy caramel, then spicy orange zest and vanilla cream. Toffee and cinnamon, then a bit more ginger.

Finish: Long, and "robustly sherried" - cigar box, earth-imbued oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Happily, a fantastic end to the series - on par with #1, which was probably my favourite of the series (though now they've all been released, I would like to do a side-by-side comparison of all of them!)

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasting the new Double Cask range at The Macallan Room Hong Kong [Tasted #490 - 492]

If you make your way to Level 5 of the incredible K11 Musea shopping centre, you might find a small piece of Speyside, in the form of the new "Macallan Room" - a permanent space next to Liquid Gold which serves as a showcase for the brand, and event space for product launches.

A relatively cosy space (ideal for holding COVID-compliant gatherings at the moment), the space boasts a marble bar overshadowed by a wall (or perhaps wave) of Macallan bottles, with rare Macallans lining most walls, including a Macallan 72yo Genesis Decanter, Exceptional Single Casks (available for purchase from Liquid Gold next door, albeit not at original retail pricing) and Fine & Rare releases. 

Outside the room sits a more temporary exhibit currently, hosting "The Macallan Extraordinary Wood Journey Exhibition", using photography from Steve McCurry to tell the story of oak (and subsequent casks) that make up the new Double Cask range.

Double Cask is a whisky we first met back in 2016, although at the time the range comprised a single 12yo expression. Fast forward to 2020 however, and the range has been expanded with the addition of both 15 and 18 year old expressions. Both still 100% sherry maturation, but (like the 12 year old), from a 50:50 mixture of American and European Oak sherry casks (the better-known "Sherry Oak" Macallan range uses European Oak exclusively).

As nice as the new Macallan Room was, we weren't there just to see the space, with Edrington kindly arranging a tasting of the new Double Cask Range - 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old and 18 Year Old, expertly led by The Macallan Brand Ambassador Patricia Byott.

The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask (40% ABV, 12yo, Speyside, Scotland, $500HKD / $105AUD / £51.95)

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Colour: Yellow-honey gold.

Nose: Vanilla, honey and dried orange peel. It's clearly from sherry, and has trademark Macallan notes, but (as I found back in 2016), a bit more fruity and less intense than the Sherry Oak 12yo.

Palate: Still more honey and vanilla, with some oak spice and ginger tea.

Finish: Medium in length with a warming ginger note.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

The Macallan 15 Year Old Double Cask (43% ABV, 15yo, Speyside, Scotland, $1,150HKD / $199AUD / £90.95)

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Colour: Maple gold.

Nose: The European Oak has started to work some of its magic here. There's still orange, but the honey has become toffee, and there are some sultana and demerara notes too.

Palate: From the same family as the 12yo, but with more wood spice and dried fruits - sultanas, sweet raisins and pot pourri.

Finish: Long, with lingering dried fruit mix and woodspice.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. The "sweet spot" in the range, if you ask me.

The Macallan 18 Year Old Double Cask (43% ABV, 18yo, Speyside, Scotland, $2,200HKD / $499AUD / £249.95)

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Colour: Copper gold.

Nose: Toffee and sultanas, but the orange has become grapefruit, and there's a noticeable Brazil nut quality coming through.

Palate: Less sweet than the 15, with more dried fruit mix, almonds and Brazil nutes, but also bitter dark chocolate (yum) and more grapefruit.

Finish: The longest of the three, with some oak tannins starting to show at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. 

The Macallan Double Cask range is available in Hong Kong now (with pretty keen pricing from Dram Good Stuff I've noticed - certainly better than Watsons and the like). Those wanting to visit The Macallan Room or the exhibit can find the details below:

The Macallan Room

To immerse, discover and savour The Macallan 

Address: Shop 507, Level 5, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui

Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 10am – 10pm 

Contact No: (852) 5988 0777

 

Steven McCurry - The Macallan Extraordinary Wood Journey Exhibition

Address: Level 5, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui

Exhibition period: 22 September 2020 to 10 October 2020

Time: 10am – 10pm. 

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.

The Macallan Edition No 5 [Tasted #475]

Of the many releases each year from The Macallan, the "Edition" series has become an annual favourite, with fans guessing months in advance what the next release colour might be (so far: Brown, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple).

Always residing around a central theme (structure, cask, nose, etc..), the whiskies are a fun and varied insight into the distillery, always offering a slightly different take whilst retaining an underlying Macallan familiarity.

More importantly for me though, the series represents one of the distillery's strongest forays into transparency, with plenty of detail on cask make-up (size, type, fill) provided, and even a bit more hidden detail if you know where to look.

For 2019's release (the 5th in the series), the focus is on colour (remember The Macallan never artificially colour their whisky), and to emphasise the point, the distillery even registered their own Pantone colour - "The Macallan Edition Purple". Whether or not you buy into this sort of marketing (personally we think it's a bit of fun, nothing more, nothing less), the focus is, and should be of course, on the liquid.

We've seen Edrington HK  hold a range of events for the series over the years, from the Edition No 2 launch dinner at VEA, to an evening with Roja Dove to celebrate Edition No 3, and last year's lunch launch of Edition No 4. Sadly this year Steph and I could't attend the festivities for Edition No.5 (fun though they looked), but whilst we waited for our bottles to arrive, we made our way over to The ThirtySix Bar & Co to try a bottle they had open in the whisky vault.

The Macallan Edition No 5 (48.5% ABV, NAS, Speyside, Scotland, $1,450HKD)

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Colour: Golden treacle

Nose: Instantly a Macallan, with a a slightly floral bouquet, sweet and fresh, with some hints of stone fruit and a slight hint of hay.

Palate: There's that slight matchhead / flint note I find on some recent sherry-influenced cask Macallans, followed by a herbal earthy (yet very subtle) smoke, allspice, raspberry jam and a hint of cigar box.

Finish: Medium to long in length, with residual wafts of ginger, pot pourri, poached pears and toffee.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  90/100. A worthy entry into the series - approachable, enjoyable, and and sufficiently different enough to Editions 1-4 to earn its place.

Whether you're an avid Macallan collector, or looking to try your first dram, picking up a bottle of Edition No 5 won't disappoint.

Cheers,

Martin.

"The Macallan Table" - launch dinner at Felix

As we've experienced more than a few times over the years, The Macallan are no strangers to food and whisky pairing, having hosted a number of fantastic lunches and dinners in both Australia and Hong Kong. Their recent partnership with Michelin-starred Felix at the Peninsula extends this beyond a single one-off dinner, offering guests the chance to book "The Macallan Table" over a series of nights and taste four Macallans paired with dishes from chef Juan Gomez, Felix's new (and very talented) chef.

We were invited along to the launch recently, hosted by The Macallan's lovely brand ambassador Patricia and featuring two new drams (The Macallan Edition No.4, which we first tasted here and Rare Cask 2018 Edition Batch No.1) and two old favourites (The Macallan Double Cask 12yo and Classic Cut).

Kicking off with a cocktail (the Glenrothes Highball was especially refreshing), it was hard not to soak up the view from The Peninsula's enviable position overlooking Victoria Harbour and out to Hong Kong Island.

Dinner itself was a four course affair, starting with House smoked Salmon loin, green asparagus, camembert, butter lettuce and celeriac, paired with The Macallan Double Cask 12yo, which played really nicely with the Camembert (and of course smoked salmon and a nice honeyed whisky like Double Cask is always a good pairing).

Slow roasted Pigeon breast with mushroom sauce and grilled seasonabl vegetables was paired with The Macallan Edition No.4, with the pigeon's smokiness and the whisky's sweetness bouncing off each other nicely, back and forth.

In between courses, Patricia introduced chef Gomez, whose Spanish heritage not only showed in the dishes (especially the one we were about to eat), but also served as a perfect complement to The Macallan, with its history of sherry casks and strong ties to bodegas in Spain.

Dried aged Tenderloin "Rubia Gallega", piquillo parmeniter, soufflé poteato, brocolini and Madeira wine was next, paired with the new Rare Cask 2018 Edition Batch No.1). Beef and whisky is often a sensible pairing, and this one was particularly good, with the whisky's dried fruit notes bringing out some particularly fruity notes in the dish - presumably from the Madeira sauce.

The Macallan Classic Cut was served on its own next - and actually at 58% made a great digestif, a great way to break up the dishes and prepare us for the dessert - Raspberry Coconut, fresh thing coconut crunch with raspberry mousse and sorbet. The whisky had strong ginger and nutmeg notes - very different to the 10yo Cask Strength of days gone by, but good in its own right.

A big thanks must go to Edrington and The Peninsula for hosting another successful and expertly-paired whisky dinner. Whilst "The Macallan Table" pairing dinners have ended for 2018, Felix has a Macallan Jazz night on 16th November.

Cheers,

Martin