Edition No. 3 is the third whisky in The Macallan's Edition series, created by Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno with master perfumer Roja Dove. It was built around aroma rather than cask flavour alone, and bottled at 48.3% ABV, the .3 marking its place in the series.
About This Whisky
Dove nosed a broad range of samples at the distillery and described what he found. Dalgarno used that vocabulary to settle on six cask styles: American oak sherry butts from the Hudosa cooperage, European oak sherry butts and puncheons from Tevasa, refill butts, and ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads. The mix is 31% butts, 30% puncheons, 32% hogsheads and 7% barrels, so a large share of smaller casks gives more wood contact. The heavier Tevasa base is lifted by citrus from Hudosa and vanilla from bourbon oak.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Like a fine fragrance: vanilla ice cream, fresh cut oak and delicate florals, with orange oil, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Citrus leads before chocolate comes through, and burnished oak closes it.
- Palate: Sweet fruit, vanilla and rich fruit cake with apricot, pear and crisp green apple. Ginger and cinnamon balance a light resinous oak.
- Finish: Long, sweet and fruity.
Serving & Food
Since the whole idea is scent, use a tulip glass and nose it well before sipping. Serve at room temperature, neat first, with a little water later. Pair with an orange and almond cake, a pear tarte tatin or mild aged Comté.
How to Enjoy
People who enjoy talking about aroma, and anyone completing a run of the Edition series.
Product Details
Distillery: The Macallan
Series: Edition No. 3
Category: Single malt Scotch whisky
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Collaboration: Created with master perfumer Roja Dove and Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno
Cask Detail: Hudosa American oak sherry butts, Tevasa European oak sherry butts and puncheons, refill butts, ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads
Age: No age statement
ABV: 48.3%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
At The Macallan the whisky maker's main tool is the warehouse. Spirit stays in the same cask until it is ready, so building an expression means knowing thousands of casks by smell and picking the few that fit an idea. That skill impressed Roja Dove when he visited: he was struck by the fact that Dalgarno knew how roughly 250,000 maturing casks smelled and tasted, and could pull the right handful from that stock for a given idea.