The Macallan Concept No. 3 [Tasted #543]

Last year I wrote about The Macallan "Concept 2", a travel retail exclusive launched at a time when global travel was extremely limited.

Fast forward ~18 months, and the next (and final) whisky in the series has been released, "Concept 3" (at a time when global travel is still, sadly, very limited). Despite the lack of travel, The Macallan were kind enough to send me a bottle (part of this stunning kit) so I could try the whisky.

First though, some background. The third and final release in the “Concept” series sees a whisky which “brings together the worlds of whisky and graphic design”, through a collaboration with designer David Carson. Described as “bright & fresh”, the whisky was created by The Macallan Whisky Maker Polly Logan, at a unique 40.8% (because “8 happens to be mine and David’s favourite number”, says Polly 😁)

As you might expect from a collaboration with a graphic designer, the bottle and packaging have a lot "going on" visually, culminating in an impressive AR experience (via app download) which gives more detail on the whisky, design and collaboration via short videos from Polly and David. It's a fun and unique (in the world of whisky) way to add a little joy / interactivity to the experience. 

 

As for the whisky itself, details are limited, but we do know that it includes whisky from first fill sherry butts & ex-bourbon casks, along with "selected refill and virgin oak casks" (no word on if the refills are ex-sherry or ex-bourbon, or something else however).

I never covered it on the blog, but some of you may know I wasn't the biggest fan of Concept No.1 (for me, the "reverse" sherry-then-bourbon cask maturation didn't quite hit the mark), but I found No.2 to be a big improvement. So the big question is, how does the series finale stack up? Let's find out...

The Macallan Concept No.3 (40.8% ABV, NAS, Speyside Scotland, $TBC)

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Colour: Yellow golden sunset.

Nose: Sweet yellow fruits - apricot and peach. Subtle ginger followed by a big dollop of honey, and sweet mandarin.

Palate: A lot of sweetness, with soft peach and pear notes, floral / pot pourri notes, and subtle vanilla hints. There's plenty here to let you know it's a Macallan, but it's sweeter than you might be familiar with (especially when compared with other recent NAS Macallans).

Finish: Medium in length, sweet and spiced (allspice), with vanilla hints at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. A sweeter Macallan, but a well-constructed one and one that I suspect will be popular with a wide cross-section of drinkers. 

 

The Macallan Concept No.3 is available now via travel retail globally. A big thanks to The Macallan Hong Kong for the set pictured here.

Cheers,

Martin.