Auction only
Recommended, with caveats
For the details…
Macallan. The ultimate luxury whisky, and for a while, beloved of whisky connoisseurs. An object lesson of being a victim of your own success?
Macallan started its life as a farm distillery, and was licensed to one Alexander Reid in 1824, shortly after the passage of the Excise Act. It was later sold to James Stuart, who rebuilt the plant in 1868. In 1892, Stuart sold the distillery to Roderick Kemp, one of the luminaries of the 19th century Scotch whisky industry. Kemp’s various descendents remained in control of Macallan until 1996, when the distillery was purchased by Highland Distillers, which has subsequently become Edrington. Although Macallan is now often thought of–for better and worse–as the ultimate single malt, it has been an important for blending as well, and only during the downturn in the blend market during the mid-80s did Macallan begin heavily focussing on single malt. The distillery’s tiny stills produces a heavy new make due to minimal contact with copper, and through much of its life, it has been mostly matured in ex-sherry oak.
Sherry maturation and careful quality control earned Macallan many plaudits; for casual consumers, Macallan became widely regarded as the ultimate single malt; the late whisky writer Michael Jackson was greatly enamored of the distillery; and collectors and aficionados drove demand for vintage bottlings at the nascent auction market.
In the later 1990s, and especially the early 2000s, Macallan’s owners began to aggressively position it as a luxury brand, with increasingly sleek design, collaboration with established luxury brands such as the crystal maker Lalique and, inevitably, higher prices. The stresses of high demand saw Macallan temporarily switch away from age statements on many of their bottlings under 18 years of age, and the firm largely failed to keep up with changes in the enthusiast market, continuing to bottle largely at 43% abv and without assurances of natural presentation. The result has been that while Macallan continues to sell quite well as an aspirational luxury product, it has begun to take on a somewhat sour reputation with the enthusiast community–there is a sense that the quality has declined, and the prices have long become egregiously high.
This 18 year old is one of the last vintage expressions, made from whisky no younger than stocks distilled in 1990. Matured exclusively in sherry casks, this expression showed how great Macallan can be. A rich, fullish bodied, sherried whisky full of dried fruits and nuts, it has an ineffably delicious character and shows the potential greatness of a perfectly balanced dram.
Macallan 18 year old, 1990 Edition, one of the now-discontinued sherry matured vintage 18 year olds
Nose: Rich, creamy, and heavily sherried character. Black grape, dried plum, walnuts, and a slight undertone of meatiness.
Body: Big and rich; medium to full and very soft and smooth.
Palate: Big, rich and profound. Some sweetness with tons of dark fruit, sherry and hints of nut. Ineffably delicious and integrated. Just a bit smoky. Balanced.
Finish: Medium, with dried fruit; picks up the major themes of the palate, but becomes drier.
Score: 93/100
Who should buy it?: Anyone with money to burn who has ever doubted Macallan’s ability to produce stunning whisky. If you can find this anywhere near its original retail price (~$160), BUY IT! Anything much north of $200 is excessive, and not worth it.
Overall thoughts: A great whisky that is perfectly balanced, rounded, and all around excellent. It’s a crying shame that Macallan doesn’t seem to be making anything like this anymore, at least at anything approaching a reasonable price point.
Bottling Information:
Expression: Macallan 18 year old, 1990 Edition 43% abv
Bottler: Proprietor
Range: n/a
Bottle Code: L1031H L8 10:12 14:31
Presentation: Unspecified
Details: Matured exclusively in sherry casks
Price: My wife bought this for me for around $160. The currently available 18 year old runs at least $230 or so, and sometimes well more, and is, from what I’ve heard, of inferior quality. Older bottlings like this can sell for stratospheric prices.
Availability: Maybe auction, or if you really don’t like keeping your money, at select online retailers.
Distillery Information:
Region: Speyside
Location: Craigellachie
Geography: Inland
Date Founded: 1824
Owner: Edrington
Website: https://www.themacallan.com/en-us
Capacity: 15,000,000
Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Lauter; WASHBACKS: 21 Stainless steel; STILLS: 36 (12 wash, 24 spirit); HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube
Total expressions sampled: 5
Overall distillery score: B
Whisky Considered 
Great review! I have been very turned off by the price hikes largely due to the fanaticism around this brand that albeit it noteworthy, doesn’t live up to the tag on the bottle. It’s sad the product has become inferior, as is to be expected when you are largely selling luxury you get what you paid for. I don’t believe the experienced are easily fooled by this either. Fool me once, and yah dee yah dee yada… You get the point. This is exactly why I stopped at the 12 yr. But hey, they do look pretty on the shelf.
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Thanks man! Ya, I don’t think I’ve bought any Macallan for north of a decade for exactly the reasons you mentioned, but this one was lovely while it lasted, and compared to today’s prices, it wasn’t terribly expensive.
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