Macallan Edition No. 5

After finding Editions 3 and 4 disappointing, I wasn't convinced by this range. Edition No. 2 brought me back to the series. Now, for the most recent release. I paid $10 more for it than the others, although I've seen it listed at very high prices (one shop even had it for $200.) Was Edition 2 a coincidence, or will Macallan recover from their two prior mediocre attempts? Let's find out. Aroma: Heavy on the Sherry. Notes of plum, date, fig, prune, raisin, and red grape. Abundant vanilla, honey, marshmallow, and toffee. Milk chocolate and salted caramel. Apple, pear, orange, and apricot contribute additional fruitiness. It's floral, with a hint of lemon. Clove, nutmeg, and oak are also detected. A promising start. Palate: More plum, grape, and raisin. Notes of pomegranate and acai berry. The apple, orange, pear, and apricot flavors are now in harmony with the dark fruit notes, which were prominent in the aroma. Especially orange and orange zest. More milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Bittersweet blackberry and sharp lime flavors emerge in the middle. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and oak. Very similar to the aroma, and just as good, with better balance between the dark fruit notes that dominated the aroma and the other flavors. Finish: The dry red fruit hits immediately. Plum, cranberry, fig, date, raisin, prune, pomegranate, acai berry. Orange and lime. More of the cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and oak spice that complete a long finish. An outstanding performance. It has put the series back on the right track for me. I anticipated a score of 4.25, but this one has deeply impressed me. I will compare it to Edition 2 and the 18 Year Old Sherry Oak to better define my score, but I am thoroughly enjoying this. The score might go up. Macallan also appears to believe this was a significant success. I acquired this as soon as it became available for $110. That's $10 more than I paid for Editions 2-4. Currently, I frequently observe it for $20-$40 more, including at the establishment where I initially purchased it. With Macallan products, there's often a constant struggle between affordability and excellence. Compared to Editions 2-4, this offers quality. Only Edition 2 is arguably of higher quality, and one cannot claim it offers better value since it's no longer available at retail pricing (if you can find it, please let me know immediately.) Setting aside variables, this is an exceptional whiskey. The 18 Year Old, Edition 2, and Edition 5 are the subjects of my last three Macallan reviews, and they have restored my confidence in the product. If you can still find this at a reasonable price, acquire it before it disappears.

I've stated this numerous times: I'm not a fan of Macallan; I've encountered some outstanding, average, and poor examples. In fact, I've tried the 5 editions, disliked No. 2, appreciated 1 and 3, and loved No. 4. My point is that I don't fall for Macallan's marketing hype like some others, nor do I criticize it just to appear trendy online. I aim for objectivity in my hobby: reviewing whisky. With that said, this is a very good whisky with one of the finest aromas I've ever encountered in a dram. Edition No. 3 was supposed to have the best aroma, as it was chosen by a perfumer. That one doesn't even approach Edition No. 5's aroma. Let's review this dram: First, this edition honors Macallan's original whisky color, collaborating with the Pantone Color Institute for a special purple shade representing Macallan, featured on the packaging. Bottled at 48.5% ABV, with a tawny color. On the nose, it boasts the best aroma in the whisky world, or at least one of my top 5 whisky aromas ever. Everyone at a tasting event agreed; it's simply spectacular. Here are my detailed notes: Grapes. Highly floral, reminiscent of Japanese whisky. Very wine-like. Honey hard candy. Sawdust. Incredibly perfumed. Chocolate, toffee, honey, hazelnut, Nutella, TEMPERA PAINT, dates, red fruits. A second sip reveals blackberries and full caramel. A third sip brings floral and red fruit notes. It's astonishing. You don't even need to drink it; the aroma alone is enough. The rest of the dram is good, not exceptional, but solid. Strawberries, blackberries, sugary, dried fruits; molasses. Slightly bittersweet. Herbal and caramel notes. The ABV is sufficiently high to provide a decent, powerful flavor. The finish reveals classic Macallan characteristics: sawdust, oak, sulfur, minerals, salt. A slight burn, anise, hazelnut, and pie crust. A bit dry. Overall, I can liken this whisky to a certain athlete's career: visually appealing and refined, but capable of toughness when necessary. I truly enjoyed it and will provide my individual scores for each component: Nose: 26 out of 25 points. (Yes, I had to award it an extra point because it earned it). Palate: 22 out of 25. Finish: 21 out of 25. Balance: 22 out of 25. Therefore, 91 out of 100 is a very fitting score. Cheers!

I'm concluding my reviews of the Macallan Edition series with this year's offering, Edition No. 5, thanks to a friend. This latest edition is bottled at 48.5% ABV, is non-chill filtered, and has a natural amber color. This particular Macallan incorporates a significant proportion of ex-bourbon casks, which is evident. Despite all casks being sherry seasoned, the initial aroma I detected was bourbon, and a substantial amount of it. The American oak is very prominent, delivering abundant sweetness. Lots of vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar. The sherry influence gradually appears with notes of golden raisins, chocolate, and sweet grapes. There was something puzzling me for a while, and then it hit me...kettle corn. It's the first time I've ever detected that, and it was quite interesting. Also present are donut glaze and powdered sugar. If smells could cause dental decay, this would come with a warning from the dental association. Hints of peaches & cream, vanilla custard, and sweet oaky notes. After letting it sit for a considerable time, I began to notice apples and pears as well. The palate offered a somewhat sweet initial taste, followed by a surprisingly spicy sensation. It's very oaky with considerable wood spice. Again, much more bourbon than sherry influence. Slightly astringent. Vanilla, a touch of sourness, and that peculiar kettle corn note from the nose. A bit of barrel char, aromatic qualities, a hint of floral notes, and some hay. Very little sherry presence, a little orange peel, but no other fruit notes. A slight salinity and chocolate, but an excessive amount of oak. The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied, starting astringent and mouthwatering, then becoming dry. The finish is medium in length, featuring oak, bourbon-infused oak, tannic oak, clove, and ginger. I genuinely appreciated the nose on this one due to its unusual sweetness and the distinctive kettle corn note, but the palate completely detracted from that enjoyment. It's as if they developed this whisky based solely on its aroma, smelled the final product, and concluded it was perfect without tasting it, assuming it would be fine. The palate was excessively harsh and heavily oaked. It's the least appealing of the Edition series I've tried. It barely even resembles a Macallan. I'd rate the nose a 4, but the palate struggles to reach above a 2.75 or 3 at best. Therefore, I'll give it a 3.25. Cheers

My least respected distillery, but people keep praising this to me. Let's see how disappointing it is. Nose - fruity, baking spices, vanilla, surprisingly heavy amounts of sherry given the casks used. The sherry is almost reaching a white grape juice level of sweetness. Taste - tired casks. Oak, muted, and off. There are nice sherry notes, some good vanilla oak, but the overall combination is really awful. This is truly awful. There's too much oak, it's astringent, it's bitter, drying. Well, this distillery never disappoints anymore. Every bottle is worse than the last. It makes me sad given how good their stuff used to be and how most of that has vanished from the shelves. Giving this a 1-star rating. It's not bad, but there's nothing good about it. I really can't find anything nice or good to say about it, but it's drinkable, you'll be perfectly happy to have a glass of this if it's free. But beyond that...why would you not drink a good whisky? A good whisky that costs 1/10 as much.... Edit - changed my mind. The nose is actually good on this. It's just a pathetic effort to blend a good whisky.

Nose - Fruity raisin-y caramel, hint of candied ginger, candied orange peel, toffee, dark apple juice Taste - Spicy candied ginger, candied orange peels, toffee, milk chocolate, prunes, dark raisins, M&M candy shell sweet? Finish - Lingering candied ginger spice, candied orange peels, orange sugar coated jelly candy?, plain M&Ms, weird metallic fruity sweet Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - So this one was a bit interesting in that it didn't really taste like the standard profile of a nicely sherried Scotch from this distillery. This had more of a candied fruit vibe to it with a hint of raisins/prunes. Interesting nose that carries over to the palate but the finish has this weird metallic fruity sweet that I find a bit off-putting. Overall it's pretty decent, but the finish kind of kills it. The longer I wait, the more metallic & strange sweet I get from this and it's a bit distracting. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Vanilla bomb on the nose, like a soaked pastry (think rum baba or malaga), with hints of honey, dried grapes, cinnamon, and candied orange peel. The alcohol is ever-present, yet always complements the spirit's dessert-like character. On the palate, it's essentially a cake essence, even more so than on the nose, leaning towards English trifle with a strong orange and vanilla cream presence. The alcohol provides a subtle zest without being overwhelming. The aromas remain consistent, showing little change even with aeration. It finishes with a medium length, featuring notes of raisins, vanilla, and hazelnut. This spirit conjures scenes of an English tearoom, with proper ladies enjoying rich desserts and discussing royal affairs. Quite straightforward and unadorned, it lacks significant development or depth. It delivers on its promise: an enjoyable drink and little else.