Macallan Edition No. 5 – Colour Me a Fan

Welcome to the year 2020 everyone!  Today’s Whisky Wednesday dram is The Macallan Edition #5.

Macallan Distillery, owned by Edrington Group, is currently one of the Top 3 Scotch Whisky brands and sells 12 million bottles per year.  Macallan is known as the “Rolls Royce among malts” and is very popular with Whisky collectors.  Often older, harder to find bottles fetch top dollar at auctions.

Macallan has been steadily growing since the late 70’s but has really hit its stride since 1996.  In 2015, they reached their maximum production of 11 million litres of alcohol.  They then started construction of a new Distillery which is now complete and produces 15 million litres per year.

One of the more recent and popular series offered by Macallan is the Edition Series.  The Edition Series is an annual limited-edition series that highlights their approach to whisky making and showcases the various aspects of the craft.

No.1 showcases the influence of the cask by being drawn from eight of the finest European and American oak cask styles and sizes.

No.2 was a collaboration between their Master Whisky Maker and the 3 Roca Brothers from world-renowned restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca. 

No.3 was yet another collaboration, only this time with Master Perfumer Roja Dove.  Roja hand selected samples to create this expression.

No.4 embodies the craftmanship and design that went into the Whisky and their newly completed, state-of-the-art Distillery.

And finally, 2019’s release, Edition No.5 pays homage to their whisky’s natural colour.  This time they teamed up with the Pantone Color Institute.  They created this bold and unique shade of purple for the packaging and bottle of this edition. 

Admittedly, I haven’t been as impressed with Macallan whisky as some have.  This series, however, I do quite enjoy.  There is no questioning Macallan’s attention to quality and detail, but I do feel I would appreciate more of their expressions if they were bottled at 48% ABV or higher, as this series is.  I would also like to applaud their transparency with this line of whiskies and hope that it is a growing trend in the industry.

Bottled at 48.5% ABV

Price: $175.99 CAN

Nose: Toffee and spice (nutmeg and ginger), oak, vanilla

Palate: Buttery mouth feel and flavour, maple brown sugar oatmeal, crisp pear in the background.

Finish: Lingering oak spices, bittersweet dark chocolate

Rating: 8.7/10