Macallan Speymalt 1994 (Gordon & MacPhail)

Christopher Hayn — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 17:43:56 +0000

On the eighth day of the Dramcalendar, we have the Macallan Speymalt 1994, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. ‘Speymalt’ is a bottling series specifically dictated to single malts from Macallan, probably one of the most iconic Sottish distilleries. Its close proximity to the River Spey inspired the name of this bottling series.

Name:	Macallan Speymalt 1994
Bottler:	Gordon & MacPhail
Bottling Series:	Speymalt
Vintage:	1994
Bottled:	2014
Age:	20 Years Old
Category:	Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery:	Macallan
Cask Type:	Refill Sherry Hogshead
Strength:	43.0% Vol.
Colored:	No
Chill Filtered:	Yes

Nose

Beeswax, white honey, pears and oranges. Then even more fruits like bananas and pineapples, but it is kinda hard to differentiate them. There is also a bit of hey in the background.

Taste

Smooth and creamy. Fruit salad and pineapple cream. Followed by black pepper corns balanced by hints of sugarcane, oak and anise. Ends with pink grapefruits. Altogether not as exciting as the nose.

Finish

Long. Smooth and warming. Milk chocolate and a bit of oak.

Overall

This is of course no sherry bomb like the original bottlings but that was expected given the Refill Sherry Hogshead. This expression is rather elegant and subtle with a distinctive focus on the distillery character. A very fine single malt although the rest is not as exciting as the fantastic nose. Especially the finish is pretty pale.

Score: 86 / 100

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Macallan Speymalt 1994 (Gordon & MacPhail)