Whisky Forum - The Macallan burn

timelinex · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Posts: 16

I'm fairly new to scotch collecting but I have 15-20 nice bottles now that I've taken a dram or more from. A big part of what sets apart the more expensive scotchs seems to be complexity of taste and I've found the more expensive the Scotch, the smaller the alcohol burn tends to be.

This has applied to most of my scotch's except for The Macallan ones. I have the 12, 15 & 21. They have a signature taste that I immediately know is Macallan. I like all 3 of them and the 21 especially has that added smoky oak taste that is good. HOWEVER, there seems to be one thing that I have been very disappointed in. They most definitely all have a pretty strong alcohol burn (compared to other nice scotchs). I generally drink everything neat, but I found that adding a few drops of water into the 21 does mellow out the burn. It does seem very disappointing though that even the $500 21 has that burn that takes away from the enjoyment. Even my 54% Ardbeg seems to have less burn than the 43% 21.

Is it just my imagination? Is it because the flavor is lighter than the heavily peated or smoky malts, which means the burn isn't hidden as much? Am I mistaking the burn for a different flavor?

Quaich1 · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:48 pm Post subject:

Hi. I've never associated The Macallan with whisky burn myself though I suppose one could suggest that some Macallan oak expressions like the Macallan Select Oak might be experienced by some as being more intense (what you call whisky burn) perhaps. My guess is that your taste is more partial to sherry cask finishes which impart the "sweet" layers to a dram. The Macallan line has many drams that would fit your own taste profile but again they are not cheap. The best Macallan I've sampled is the Macallan No.6 Lalique at $4,003.00 Canadian a bottle which I'm sure you would love. The Macallan Ruby is one I think you would like, $300. CDN. a bottle

Cheers.
Very Happy

_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

sorren · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:03 pm Post subject:

I thought the macallan burn was felt by everyone when they have to pay for the bottle ðŸ˜"?

McKay · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:24 pm Post subject:

Everyone's palate is different and will vary in sensitivity to the alcohol strength, personally I do not experience any burn from any Macallan distillery bottling.

Fightingirish · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:15 pm Post subject:

I quite enjoy most Macallan's. I just picked up a sienna which I have yet to try. The Ruby is 349.95 Cdn and has been for some time now. The rare cask is 399.95,.....wow.

timelinex · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Posts: 16

Hmmm, that's interesting.

I have the 12yr, 15yr & 21 yr and then I've had my business partners rare cask & edition 1. So I've had both the sherry ones and the fine oak ones.

My wife and I had both the 15 and 21 yesterday and both agreed on the burn being the downfall. The 21 has been open for 2 years so maybe it's deteriorated a little, but the 15 is full and only a few months old.

Now that I see most people disagree with us, maybe I need to try it again to see if I can describe the sensation a bit better.

Quaich1 · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:52 pm Post subject:

Fightingirish · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:14 pm Post subject:

Quaich1 · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:20 pm Post subject:

Fightingirish · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:23 pm Post subject:

timelinex · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Posts: 16

So I tried some 12 just now and can describe the sensation better. The burn isn't typically what I would associate with low quality alcohol burn that can be felt on the entire palate. This burn is very specific to the start of the throat & tonsil area.

I'm thinking that this burn might happen for all scotch, but many of my scotchs are heavily smoked, peated or spiced. The Macallans definitely are not. They have a much more subtle taste. So I'm thinking maybe the smoke/peat/spice in the others might be drowning out and distracting from the burn. I will drink more drams in the coming week of the different scotchs and see.

dramblersanonymous · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:38 am Post subject:

Hi timelinex, have you tried pouring the dram then allowing it 20min or so to breath? It often mellows and takes a little of the alcohol edge off. Particularly from new bottles.

timelinex · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Posts: 16

Well I tried a few again with my wife and my friend did the test again with his Macallan Rare Cask and we came to the same conclusion. There is undoubtedly a stronger than normal alcohol burn with the Macallans. The 3 of us collectively own and have had the 12,15,21,rare cask & edition 1.

Just about the only 'decent' Whiskey/Scotch in my collection that has a stronger burn is my 120 proof Knob Creek, and that's a relatively cheap whiskey and some high octane stuff!

Airing it out, putting water into it, holding it on the tongue longer before drinking it, and etc does help the burn, but it does that for all Whiskies.

I'm just a little surprised that with how clear it is for us 3, no one else on here concurs.

TheWM · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:25 pm Post subject:

Have you ever heard/read about bias theory aka confirmation bias?

timelinex · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Posts: 16