Macallan Lumina

Even though I'm getting a bit tired of Macallan, I have to admit their whiskies are a solid choice. This Macallan Lumina is one of the newer releases in the "Quest Collection" and I purchased it for about $100. It's bottled at 41.3% ABV and has a burnished gold color. The nose is your typical Macallan, featuring the "Milky Way" chocolate notes, dulce de leche, and a slight herbal hint. Yep, just like every other Macallan. (And that's not necessarily a bad thing). The palate was a bit surprising. Very spicy. Actually quite nice. Herbal, ginger, clove, chili, lavender. It's a different offering. I enjoyed it. The aftertaste was long and very satisfying, with ginger spice being the dominant flavor. Overall, I rate this fine dram an 87/100, and I consider it a good whisky. Nothing extraordinary, but easy to drink and enjoyable.

Experienced this at a Macallan tasting during a Caribbean cruise. I was informed it's exclusive to duty-free shops. It's NAS, and I was also told it's a blend of three casks used in maturation. The nose and taste are dominated by oak and vanilla. It has moderate complexity. The finish features a spice of cinnamon and pepper.

Aroma of caramel, fresh bread, vanilla, melon, pear, and sherry cask. The palate is sweet with vanilla, bread, oak, and toast, finishing with a slight bitterness. The finish is dry. The aroma is lovely, but the taste is somewhat lacking. Perhaps it will improve after resting in the bottle for a while... actually, it is better.

Aged in a Sherry cask. The aroma is spicy, lemony, salty, and like mature wood. Reminiscent of peated whisky. The blend is reminiscent of chocolate with almonds. On the palate, it's straightforward with vanilla notes and a smooth, short finish.

The color is medium to light. The nose has vanilla with a hint of lemon. The palate is like buttery shortbread with vanilla and honey. The finish warms into nutmeg and white pepper, lingering.

It was quite vegetal when first opened and requires time to oxidize and breathe in the glass. The initial pour from the bottle was quite poor, but it became quite good after being open for several months.