The Macallan Turns Rare Cask Edition Into A More Regularly Scheduled Offering

The Macallan Scotch whisky distillery, among the many different bottlings they have on the market these days, has one particular non-age statement expression known as Rare Cask that was first released back in 2014. It is drawn from vattings of casks said to represent less than one percent of those aging at the distillery. Now, in keeping with trends in the market for more collectible style bottlings, this offering is being trimmed to a more planned schedule.

The Macallan Rare Cask, according to those behind it, will now be highlighted by its name as well as its batch number. The kick off for this is The Macallan Rare Cask Batch No. 1, 2018 Release. It will be followed by two more releases this year and then in subsequent years this will jump to four. Each limited release batch represents the volume of only 50 oak sherry butts, again keeping with the theme of less than one percent of those aging at the distillery being drawn from.

“The rarity of Rare Cask lies in the limited number of first fill sherry seasoned casks,” said Nick Savage, the Macallan master distiller, in a prepared statement. “This whisky truly exhibits the art of cask selection and the role of our Whisky Making Team to hand pick the casks for each batch.”

As part of the overhaul on how this Scotch is being released, a fresh packaging redesign has also been done to bring it more in line with under bottles recently redone across The Macallan line up. Still front and center, however, will be the highlighted natural mahogany red color that’s the result of balance between European and American sherry seasoned oak casks.

Plans call for Batch No. 1 to price around £230, or about $300 USD. You’ll find some official tasting notes below for your consideration.

• Nose: Soft notes of opulent vanilla and raisin pique the nose, giving way to a sweet ensemble of apple, lemon and orange.
• Palate: Oak resonates, timeless, polished and rich. Vanilla and chocolate lead the finale along with a light citrus zest.
• Finish: Full and warming.