Whisky : Macallan 18 Year 1981

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 43%

Cask : Ex-Sherry

Age : 18 Years (Distilled 1981, Bottled 1999)

Nose : Dried medjool dates, pickled figs, and strawberry jam.  Fruity notes give way to hot candle wax, motor oil, cow hides, and oil paints.  Malty notes poke in as diner pancakes drowned in maple syrup while cologne notes of cedar and patchouli come into focus.

Palate : Light body with a pleasant oiliness and mild dryness on the finish.  Sweet notes of dried figs, demerara sugar, sour dates, chocolate tootsie rolls, flat cola, and candied ginger.  More savory notes of leather shoes, old fashioned steakhouse, rancid olive oil, and lamp oil develop on the mid palate and carry into the finish with lacquered wood.

Finish : Lingering chocolate tootsie rolls and blown out candles.

Score : 4

Mental Image : Steakhouse Time Travel

Something Better : Glendronach 10Y SMWS 96.30 (similar tootsie rolls, dried fruits, richer profile)

Something Worse : Westward Oregon Stout Cask (similar resin & patchouli, less dried fruits)

Notes : If you have ever been to an old fashioned steakhouse and felt as if you had time warped back to the 1970’s or 80’s— then you understand the essence of this dram.  The flavor profile was strongly reminiscent of padded leather chairs, flambéed desserts, dim lighting, and a thick haze of cigar smoke.  It is fun to visit an old steakhouse, almost like going on an amusement park ride in which the rides are “table made Caesar salad” and “table-side bananas foster.”  You go as much, if not more, for the experience as the quality of the food.

This Macallan was more experience than quality.  A friend, who likes Macallan a great deal more than I, concluded that the bottle must have been faked— a forgery refilled with a lesser spirit.  I think it is more likely that the seal on this bottle was imperfect, the storage conditions not ideal, and that the contents suffered a bit too much oxidization over the last two decades.  It was still a lot of fun to try a bottle older than I and I actually enjoyed this a fair bit, though perhaps more for the novelty.  Besides the slightly spoiled fruit and rancid oil notes, this was quite tasty— though I think some of those notes are part of the normal Macallan funk that people love.

Overall this bottle belongs in the bin of “more cool/interesting than good,” which still leaves it pretty enjoyable.  I do not think it was worth the price paid to try it— I would not do it again— but I do not regret it.