A 1988 vintage Macallan from the Fine & Rare Collection, bottled in 2011 at 23 years old from a single refill American oak sherry hogshead, cask 12202. It came out at 46.7% ABV, with 251 bottle equivalents.
About This Whisky
Cask 12202 was a refill hogshead of American oak that had been seasoned with sherry. A refill cask has already given up much of its colour and sherry weight to an earlier filling, so over 23 years it let the Macallan spirit speak more clearly. The result is pale and bright, closer to citrus and orchard fruit than to the dark, raisined style most people link with Macallan. That contrast is what makes it interesting beside the older sherry-butt vintages.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Lemon and orange, with vanilla playing against clean oak. Banana and green apple sit in the background.
- Palate: Woody at first, then citrus fruit, sweet oak and malt.
- Finish: Medium length, fruity and oaky, drying slightly.
Serving & Food
Chill it very lightly, to about 16°C, and serve neat in a white wine glass so the citrus shows. A teaspoon of water is plenty. Try it with steamed garoupa, lemon tart or a young Comté.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers curious about Macallan's lighter spirit character, and a 1988 birth-year gift.
Product Details
Producer: The Macallan
Range: Fine & Rare Collection
Vintage: 1988
Year bottled: 2011
Age: 23 years old
Cask: Refill American oak sherry hogshead #12202
Outturn: 251 bottle equivalents
Category: Speyside single malt Scotch whisky
ABV: 46.7%
Size: 750mL
About the Distillery
Filling a vintage library that reaches back to the 1920s took more than The Macallan's own warehouses. Independent bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail above all, had bottled old Macallan vintages long before the distillery did, and several of the oldest Fine & Rare releases are rebottlings of whisky first put into glass in the 1970s. The 1940 vintage, for example, was first bottled in 1975 and rebottled for the collection in 2002. Later vintages like this one come straight from casks the distillery held itself.