1973 The Macallan 18 Year Old

Nose: fresh and fruity and nice sherried notes. Flowery at first nosing, with tangerine liqueur and hints of old roses. Very elegant and very expressive, with a perfect balance. Whiffs of smoke. Gets then more classical with a little oak, raisins, orange marmalade, apricot cake… Also huge notes of ripe mirabelle plums, faint hints of ginger tonic and even grenadine syrup. And ripe strawberries, blackcurrant, prunes, a little toffee… Top notch.

Mouth: A beautifully dry attack.. Lots of tea, bitter caramel, balsamic vinegar… Goes on with notes of cake, rum, Smyrna raisins… beautifully compact and ‘crafted’.

The finish is long, slightly bitter, dry and clean, with hints of calvados and a little salt. Classy stuff anyway.