Whisky: Macallan Colour Tasting
11 December, 2024I recently returned from a long anticipated family cruise from Sydney to New Zealand, predominantly the South Island. I had hoped for some opportunities to sample some higher end Whiskies however being on Royal Caribbean I had heard that such things were not common.
That said, being a fan of (The) Macallan I had hoped that there might be a Whisky tasting for their Quest line-up, however those had effectively ended their rotation last year. They were in fact offering a Colour Collection tasting at a cost of $50 USD on the fourth day of the cruise. However, it was not a complete line up as they only had the 12 year, 15 year and 18 year available. The 21 year and 30 year were not included and the primary intention of the tasting, for all travel exclusives, is to drive sales in the Port Merchants Duty Free Alcohol Store on board.
As with all Macallan colour collection these are not artificially coloured (that’s rather the point of calling them a ‘colour collection’) though they’re all chill-filtered and whilst the 12 year is 40% ABV, the other two are both 43% ABV. When I was told about the tasting, I was at the Vintages Bar at the rear of Deck 5 on the ship (Ovation of the Seas) and noted that it was only on the printed list, and not the Royal Caribbean app. This meant that unless you noticed it when you went to that bar, you would have no idea it was happening.
It turned out in fact that only three people had said they were coming to the tasting, of which I was one of those three. Despite this, the Vintages Bar had been set up for a lot more than that…
As it turned out, 18 minutes after it was due to begin, I was the only person that showed up. I therefore got the entire tasting as a one on one with the bar staff member that was running the tasting. He poured mine and his (half-nips for him…since he was on duty!) and we watched each of the videos for each of them, talking about each in turn. Nosing…palette…finish and impressions. The tasting was supposed to run for only 45 minutes, but we went 15 minutes longer, beyond the 18 minutes late…we were just enjoying talking Macallan too much!
In the end the host gave me a complimentary Macallan Glencairn glass (not part of the tasting fee) as a special thank you. I had taken my own tasting notes afterward and upon wrapping up I went to the Port Traders to confirm what I already knew: they had NO STOCK of ANY Macallan Whisky for sale.
I returned to Vintages late in the cruise and asked if there were any 18 year unopened bottles on the ship they could sell me…and unfortunately the rules forbid them from selling them through the bar. They could sell wine bottles through the bar, but not spirits bottles. Ultimately though by the end of the cruise, the 12 year was completely gone.
The 12 year resembled my 12 year Sherry Oak at home slightly, however with a far less pronounced Sherry influence and perhaps somewhere between the Double-Cask and Sherry Oak 12 year in palette, but I drank a fair bit of this and rated it a 4 out of 5. The 15 year wasn’t as sweet and had more pronounced oak spices that lingered on the finish nicely and I also rated it a 4 out of 5. The really impressive one was the 18 year.
Admittedly I’ve only tasted maybe 75 whiskies or so in my life, however the Macallan 18 year Colour Collection is the first I’ve given 5 out of 5 to. I was quite literally giggling after every single sip. It has a delicious, coating mouthfeel to it, with a buttery, creamy caramel and vanilla taste that lingers for ages with a delightful finish. That said, it cost $46 USD a shot on board and a bottle would set me back $900 AUD for a bottle off-ship…from a dodgy seller since it’s technically a Travel Exclusive.
The reason I was keen to try and nab one on-board was it was selling for $350USD a bottle, Duty Free, on-board but alas they had no stock they were allowed to sell me.
However it ended, it was an interesting experience and I shall remember it every time I use my Macallan Glencairn glass.