18 year Macallan in Spectre.
walther p99
NJPosts: 3,416MI6 Agent
Thanks to a small glimpse in the Spectre teaser, we now know Bond likes having some 18 year Macallan at his London flat. I picked up some recently and have to say its my favorite tasting year of the Macallan, having also tried the 10,12,and 15.
Comments
Both excellent whiskys, the Macallan (either fine oak or the sherry oak cask) is very smooth and a lovely tipple. The Talisker being a more peaty whisky might seem 'rougher' but it's all down to personal preference and taste. The 18yr olds are expensive, wish I could go there, but the 12yr is top notch and the 10yr is also a nice dram.
I like both and had a nice birthday present of the Talisker gift set with the round bottom 'rocking' tumblers. I love the peaty Islay whiskys; Caol Ila and Bowmore are two of my favourites
I love peaty scotch too. Try Ledag from the isle of Mull if you get a chance
http://www.lcbo.ca/lcbo/search?searchTerm=Macallan
I live in Toronto so I know your pain.
This should help explain the 1824 Series and other NAS offerings;
http://marketwatchmag.com/single-malt-scotch-october-2014/
http://news.nationalpost.com/life/food-drink/drink-em-while-you-got-em-its-last-call-for-the-old-whiskies-a-victim-of-their-own-success
From what I've read The Macallan and many other distillers are going with NAS whisky because they are running out of whisky due to the increased demand over the past 10-15 years. They never put down enough stock back in the 80's because demand was low then.
You can still buy the 12, 18 year old Macallan in the States...for now.
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Hi
I actually went to the Latin American launch of the Macallan 1824 line (the Ruby, Amber, etc) late last year. They are not disclosing the years on these because they are a blend of Macallan's own single malts (i.e. a mix of their whiskys from different batches). But they are insisting the minimum age in the blend is 10 years, for what it's worth.
Personally, I wasn't crazy about them, but I'm more of an Islay guy than a Speyside guy. I found them very perfumey and overly complicated. The Ruby in particular is very sweet, I thought. But other people I was with seemed to enjoy them. Hope that helps!
Edit: Should probably note that I liked the Sienna the best, but not enough to buy it. I'd rather spend $70 to $80 on a Talisker or Laphroaig
Incidentally, the LCBO will get anything you want. The only catch is you have to order a minimum of 12 bottles and according to their website "...the final cost per bottle of the product will be approximately three to four times higher than the retail price in the country of origin after application of exchange rates, LCBO mark up, freight, taxes and duty."
What?!?
That can't be right. Here in the US I can buy it at my local liquor store for US$255 (CAN$360).
That sounds more like the price of the MacCallan 25, which if you were wondering I don't find to be that much better than the 18.
Around here that's more the Macallen 30 price, if you could find it. Never had it or the 25.
Great to see someone from my neck of the woods! Where in Toronto are you from? I'm in Milton.
Pardon my ignorance but I am new to the world of single malts, Islay and Speyside?
Islay and Speyside are different whisky producing regions in Scotland. Each region has its own distinctive style and taste. For example, the Island whiskys (Islay and Skye mainly) tend to be stronger earthy flavors (peat, smoke, salt), while whiskys from Speyside tend to be more floral and sweet. A lot has to do with the barrels the whisky is aged in (Sherry casks, bourbon casks); the whisky absorbs the flavor of the other alcohol from the wood of the cask as it ages.
Here's a link for info on the Scottish regions: http://www.maltmadness.com/whisky/scotland.html
This is a good site for general information about whisky:https://distiller.com/
Enjoy!
But 18 year old Highland Park - now we are talking .
I also enjoy Old Granddad bourbon which, for a Kentucky bourbon, is very smooth and very Moorish. I'm on my second bottle in a month.
There are many different '18 year old Macallans' - have a look here https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/b/314/macallan-single-malt-scotch-whisky?filter=true&rfdata=~brand.macallan-single-malt-scotch-whisky~age.18#productlist-filter
It depends on when they were made i.e. an 18 year old released this year will have some portion of it distilled in 1998, whereas an 18 year old released in 1998 would have a portion of it distilled in 1980; hence the huge price difference as the older '18 year olds' become much older and harder to find.
A recent 18 yo release is around £200, older ones closer to £1k.
But not a Macallan.......