The Good Ole Day’s and Macallan

A Macallan and a memory

Do you remember not so long ago when we all had a normal life ?

The world has changed over the last few months and “normal” just does not seem to be a word we can associate with anymore, given the total change in the way most of us are living our lives these days, its hard to see how we will ever get back to that way of living again.. Those that can still get out to work ( like myself) are considered the lucky ones! To some extent our lives are almost running as before but it is still far from ” normal” Our hero’s are now the countless people manning our Hospitals, our beloved NHS ( in the UK) those that for so long have worked un-noticed, for average pay and long hours are now clapped from the streets, windows and rooftops but where was the praise before we needed them, same as everything in life, it wasn’t there..

They say “You don’t know what you have until its gone” and now our freedom has gone, our right to do what we want has gone and to some extent our very way of life has gone and who are the ones who shine through.. That’s right, the very people many have forgotten about, The front line workers as we now call them, its not just the NHS, its the Bin men, the small corner shops that have now become a lifeline for so many, those small and very forgettable people who do the jobs many often look down upon are now suddenly our hero’s and how fitting it is that to some extent money actually means a little less and its health that is suddenly more important today..

That brings me nicely into todays review.. Macallan, today the name is uttered on the lips of Billionaires, its a status symbol, the liquid is to some extent insignificant, the fact you drink Macallan means you have either money or you like to think you do..

Please don’t think I am getting at everyone here, I know some people who drink Macallan do so out of a love for the liquid and to those I feel a little sympathy in that the price tag does not justify the content ( in my opinion ) But.. It wasn’t always like this, the name may have always carried a little weight, the quality may have swayed over recent years or maybe it is more a quality just does not equate to the price but whenever you get your hands on Macallan of old you cant help but smile and think the quality just feels a little better..

I am sure todays top end expressions may very well carry more quality liquid but I for one have certainly been left feeling just a little disappointed with recent bottlings, especially after paying what is realistically over inflated prices. The expectation just does not match the reality..

Cheaper by the dram is a company that offers us a chance to look back at some of these old expressions, ok the bottle may be out of many peoples price range but the price of a single dram, just for old times sake is within range of most of us.. Ok not everyone will buy into this way of thinking but lets look at the bigger picture here, these bottles sit on collectors shelves, never to be seen again, they disappear into the depths of darkness and when one does manage to re appear they command some pretty incredible price tags..

So when a bottle of older styled Macallan comes along, its great to see how the liquid holds up to todays liquid and just re assure yourself that Macallan of old really isn’t any better than the liquid we get today.. Or was it !!

As We Get It’ Macallan

Distillery.. Macallan ( old Distillery )

Region.. Speyside

Age.. Nas

Vintage.. Released in the 1980’s

Abv.. 59%

Cask.. Sherry ( I assume Oloroso from the dry palate )

Bottler.. J G Thompson & Co Ltd

Nose.. An abundance of fruit cake, candied orange peels and chocolate mingle with fruit salad sweets, freshly squeezed orange juice and gentle spices..

Palate.. Woody notes flood the senses before allowing those fruity notes to shine, the orange peel note is prominent, cinnamon buns, dates along plum jam and with Manuka honey bringing in some earthy sweetness this is rather inviting..

Finish.. Lingering wood spices

Thoughts.. There is an overwhelming quality difference from this to the more modern entry level stuff the distillery is offering today.. Ok I don’t know where this may have sat in the market back then but I will assume as a NAS this is not at the higher end of the scale..

There is a depth of flavour that is not found in most of the Macallan offerings I have tried and although I know there are some good releases coming from the distillery they command such a stupid price tag that they are just not affordable to the likes of us..

This liquid is very tasty, it carries plenty of depth and complexity, add to that the strength, and that does probably help to hide a possibly youthful whisky, however it really does leave you wanting to explore this dram even more..

Forgetting the price tag, Macallan does offer us some superb whiskies, whiskies that will bring a smile, but unfortunately it is impossible to forget the price tag !!

If trying old, long forgotten drams intrigues you then take a look at Cheaper By The Dram