The Macallan 10 Cask Strength is a whisky that usually is released with almost no publicity and press coverage. This year was no different, and I would never have thought about it until a bottle of it was samples by a local liquor shop. The owner samples a bottle of what comes in every now and then. After that, 7 10cl samples are available, of course at a fraction of the regular bottle’s price.

Nose:
An attack on your nose starts immediately. There is a lot of alcohol in there and while you don’t directly smell it, you certainly notice it by the burn in it. Also there are hints of red forest fruit, mostly strawberries and raspberries.

Taste:
On the palate, the alcohol continues its assault and a drop of water is wanted here. Apart from that alcohol burn, the taste is rather gentle, also with a lot of fruit.

Finish:
With the sheer amount of alcohol, I expected to feel something going down and that is exactly what happens. Finally some more whisky related notes appear with some leather and cereal.

The description of this whisky would be ‘nice’. Its not a tremendously good dram, but there is nothing wrong with it either. The fruity notes are quite delicious, but apart from that not too much is happening here. I would be bummed about having bought a bottle, but it might get a little boring after a while.

Macallan 10, Cask Strength, 2010 release, 58.6%. Available at around 50 euros from Drinks & Gifts.

Nose: 7
Taste: 6
Finish: 7
Overall experience: 6
Price/quality: +1

Total: 27