There are worse places to be, on a spring evening, than the whisky bar at Boisdale Canary Wharf, the E14 outpost of Scotland’s so-called unofficial embassy in London. I love it here and would be here more often if I weren’t already spending quite so much time and money in Boisdale Belgravia, the embassy’s other outpost, in SW1.
The whisky bar at BCW is one of the largest in the country, famed for its 12m back bar crammed with scores of enticingly lit single malt whiskies, where evenings and – let’s be honest – afternoons can be whiled away all too easily.
And it was here, during one such idle pm, that I recently reconnected with The Macallan’s Sherry Oak range, having long lamented the discontinuation of the glorious The Macallan Sherry Oak 10 Years Old.
On this occasion, having perused BCW’s remarkable ‘Whisky Bible’, boasting no fewer than 20 expressions from The Macallan, my eye was caught by The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Years Old. The minute I dipped my beak into the glass I found a broad grin spreading wide across my chops. That first swirl of nutty, spicy, Jerez-influenced spirit drew me straight into the whisky’s glorious embrace and demanded that a large sip was taken too. Crikey it’s tasty!
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Matured largely in sherry-seasoned European oak casks, its nose and palate speak of nuts, candied/confit fruit, gingery spice and a touch of fireside smoke, all backed by the longest of finishes. A drop of water softens the spice but enhances the fruit. It’s the perfect introduction to the Jerez-inspired style for which 202-year-old Macallan is celebrated. I went straight online and nabbed a bottle from The Whisky Exchange. What a treat!
I then continued my research, tucking into The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old and The Macallan Sherry Oak 25 Years Old, reminding myself why I love fine single malt and fine single malt from The Macallan especially.
There’s something inimitable about The Macallan’s signature notes of wood, spice, dried fruit and vanilla, be they from its unique distillation in the famously small, squat stills – the smallest on Speyside – or from the carefully managed marrying period and gentle chill filtration that allow the intricate flavours to develop over many years.
Or maybe it’s down to the fact that The Macallan has ownership of its entire sherry cask supply chain, from forests to sawmills, from cooperages to the bodegas where the casks are seasoned. These casks contribute 80 per cent of the flavour to the finished whisky and 100 per cent of the natural colour.
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Who knows? Whatever the alchemy behind it, one sip of the sumptuous The Macallan Sherry Oak 25 Years Old and you’ll be smiling for a week. It’s soft, smooth, subtle and supple; it’s spicy; it’s gingery; it’s full of preserved orange, chocolate, nuts, crystalised/dried fruit and goodness knows what else.
In short, it’s an absolute, copper-bottomed beauty and is exactly what you should be demanding for Father’s Day or spending your hard-earned bonus on.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 25 Years Old is available from The Whisky Exchange at £1,900
