The Macallan - 1861 Replica - Rare Reserve - 700ml - 42.7% vol

A piece of distillation history. In 1998 Bob Dalgarno (Macallan whisky maker) acquired a bottle of 1861 Macallan and set about replicating it from stocks held in their Speyside distillery. They also commissioned a glass blower and a calligrapher to recreate the bottle and label. A really nice product both aesthetically and to drink. Lovely presentation box included, with booklet and extra stopper.

One of these famous ‘Replicas’ that everybody seemed to kind of hate when they came out. There are various strange stories around the inception of these replicas but we’ll tell them later. Ahem.

Colour: amber.

Nose: it’s a cleaner, less meaty version of the Gran Reserva, but it’s just as fragrant and almost perfumy. This time it’s more sandalwood and incense, maybe roses, then cigars and the usual dried fruits, figs, raisins… There’s also some charcoal, wood smoke, then more bitter chocolate, dried porcinis... I have to say I like this nose.

Mouth: Grape pips, chlorophyll, pickled ginger… raisins, the figs…

Finish: long but very grapey,