Macallan Edition No.5
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.
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
Millstone
A Dutch single malt from Millstone. This expression is a peated malt matured in Pedro Ximenez solera casks. The mixture of the peated malt and Sherry influence creates a very wide range of flavours.
Bottled at 46% ABV
Nose: Oak spices and oily brine and malty cereal wrapped in a haze of peat smoke.
Palate: Raisins, sultanas, chocolate and baking spices wafting from an earth and oak floor galley.
Finish: More baking spices and raisins. Peat seems to have diminished.
Rating: 7.5/10
Miltonduff 9-Year-Old – Duncan Taylor The Octave
The second mystery dram turned out to be a Duncan Taylor “The Octave” Miltonduff 9-year-old expression. Also, a well-established independent bottler, Duncan Taylor’s “The Octave” series takes single cask whiskies from various distilleries and gives them a second maturation in smaller casks. The smaller casks give the whisky more exposure to wood over a shorter period. These secondary maturation casks are re-constructed sherry casks. Here’s my take on this 9-year-old Miltonduff The Octave. Bottled at 54.1% ABV.
Nose: Rich honey, apple crumble, caramelized maple syrup, candied orange peel.
Palate: Creamy, orange and banana, burnt toffee.
Finish: Dried orange peel and cloves.