A 12 year old Macallan from one European oak sherry butt, number 7802, bottled at full cask strength of 63.4% ABV. It was the eleventh cask in the 2017 Exceptional Single Cask release and yielded 552 bottles, this one with the US 750mL label.
About This Whisky
Cask 7802 was filled on 18 May 2005 with new make spirit and left undisturbed as a European oak sherry butt, the large 500-litre format that matures more slowly than a hogshead. Sarah Burgess selected it, and it was bottled on 20 December 2017, a little over 12 years later. At 63.4% ABV the strength has barely dropped from filling, so the whisky is dense and powerful for its age. The label code reads as release year, cask type (ESB, European sherry butt), cask number and position in the release.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Steamy, rich sherry with raisins, dark cherry and orange peel, then cinnamon and toasted oak.
- Palate: Powerful and sweet, with fruit cake, peach, dark chocolate and nutmeg. Water draws out more fruit and softens the heat.
- Finish: Long and warming, with sherried dried fruit and oak spice.
Serving & Food
This one wants water. Pour a small measure into a Glencairn, taste a drop neat, then bring it down gradually towards the mid-40s. Serve it after dinner with a slice of dark fruit cake, some Medjool dates or a square of salted dark chocolate.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers who like young, powerful sherry-butt whisky, and collectors building a set of the 2017 single casks.
Product Details
Distillery: The Macallan
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Series: Exceptional Single Cask, 2017 release
Cask: European oak sherry butt #7802
Distilled: 18 May 2005
Bottled: 20 December 2017
Age: 12 years old
Selected by: Sarah Burgess
ABV: 63.4%
Proof: 126.8 proof
Outturn: 552 bottles
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
The Exceptional Single Cask range started from the whisky makers' tasting bench at The Macallan, where samples drawn straight from individual casks are lined up and nosed. Most of that whisky goes on to be blended into the core expressions. Now and then a cask stands out enough to be bottled on its own, and this series gave those casks a release of their own, each with its own reference number, cask type, fill date and outturn. The first set arrived in 2017, with further releases in 2018 and 2019.
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