Nose: Apple pie, orange marmelade. Fresher apples with water.
Palate: Custard, white pepper.
Comments: Does not change noticeably with water. Nice, but a little bland. Probably suited to its purpose: to be used with mixers in Spain and Italy.
Tag: Macallan
Macallan 1996 13 years Adelphi 58.8%
Nose: Toffee with a hint of mint. Dry oak and vanilla. With water it develops raisins and baked apples, but the vanilla gets a somewhat rotten side note.
Palate: Too much oak? After only 13 years that’s actually kind of impressive. Oak, varnish, slightly rotten wood. With water it develops some bitterness, which for once is a good thing as it kills off the note of decay.
Comments: I’m ambivalent, but land on “No”. Too much cask and it’s also all over the place and tastes different for every sip.