It’s the last day of the Speyside Festival and we are heading to the Macallan for this dram.
The Glenkeir Treasures are a series of single cask bottlings, exclusively sold by The Whisky Shop. Since they are single cask (and bottled at cask strength) then the bottles numbers are very limited.
Macallan is known for its quality in whisky production and is deeply sought after by collectors worldwide. Although independent bottlings may not carry as much of a premium as the official expressions, this would still be a popular whisky to own.
This particular bottling was distilled on 15th July 1995 and bottled in 18th July 2014 at 54.3% ABV. It’s 50cl bottle and no other information is provided.
Colour
Yellow straw.
Nose
Creamy honey and vanilla with just a hint of fresh apples and some light spice. Quite a light nose, despite the cask strength.
Taste
The taste is much more full-on, with the neat spirit being full of alcohol prickle and a thick mouth feel. Honey sweetness, cooked apples, cinnamon
Finish is long and dry, with dried fruit coming through and just a touch of tobacco bitterness.
Adding water opens the whisky up well, with sweet apple becoming more pronounced, though the bitterness also increases which is a bit overpowering.
Overall
I’ve got mixed feeling about this one. On one hand it’s great to be able to taste a single cask Macallan which is a rare thing these days, however on the other hand it’s not a particularly great experience in this case.
The astringency in the reduced whisky seems to dominate which knocked all the pleasant sweet, fruity flavours. I’m no expert, but I’m guessing this is the influence (or over-influence) of the cask; the nose shows the typical Macallan creamy fruit characteristics, however this is not shared in the taste and it ends up being a bit unbalanced, which is a shame.
I’m glad I’ve tried this bottling, but couldn’t in all honesty recommend it.
Braw Spirit 