Bought – Whisky Galore, 24th June 2014
Ratings:
81.1/100 – Whiskybase (average from 23 member votes)
I’m not sure how long ago Gordon & Macphail started releasing the Macallan Speymalt but their range goes back to a version distilled in 1938 and bottled 65 years later in 2003. A bargain at over £7,000, if you can find it for sale! Personally I’d rather buy a car. But whenever G&M launched the range, each issue of the Macallan Speymalt tends to get good reviews. That is until the 2003 version (bottled in 2012). Jim Murray, author of the Whisky Bible, scores this bottling 68.5/100 with the remark “One to throw back in the river”. Oh dear. So, with no reviews when I bought this 2004 release (bottled in 2013), buying it was a bit of a gamble. But at £25.80 for a Macallan, I felt it was worth the risk. With the entry-level Macallan ‘Gold’ starting at £36, the Speymalt range is an excellent price to get a taste of a (usually) quality scotch.