The Malt Cask

Something a bit different today. Yes, as you will have noticed from the title, it is the standard Famous Grouse blend, but this one is actually the very first bottle of whisky I think I ever bought. I must have bought it at university about 13 years ago so that places it as an early 2000s bottle. I had completely forgotten about it until my mum mentioned it to me last summer when I was over in France. It had been stored away in a cupboard and had never been opened since the party I had bought it for. Now of course, it means that oxidation will have taken place in the 1 liter bottle, especially as there is only about 1/5 of the bottle left. What prompted my interest is the fact that many reviews about whisky mention how previous editions generally seem to be better than current ones (Johnnie Walker Black amongst these) and that's why I thought let's bring it back with me and see what it actually is like. The only thing is, I have still not got round to buying a new bottle to

After the Edition 2 reviewed on the 22nd January, another Macallan today with the standard 12 years old, sherry matured. Well, when I say standard, I mean their entry point on the age statement sherry matured range. The age statement bottles of Macallan had disappeared for a few years to be replaced by NAS bottles, or the "stripper range" as a Dewars rep' called them, with names like Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby. These NAS received very mixed reviews but I could not really comment as I am yet to try any of them. I guess that, having realised their customers were enjoying their product as much as before, Macallan decided to reintroduce ages on their bottles, hence my 12 years old. It is certainly not the cheapest 12 years old out there at around £65 a bottle but then again, the Macallan name is one of the most prestigious and sought-after in the world of (wealthy) whisky enthusiasts. So is the price tag justified? Macallan pride themselves in spending "more per c