by Yannis Valavanis

As I have said time and time again, the best things that happen in our daily lives are the unplanned, the spontaneous, and, many times, the accidental. Waiting, anticipation, and over-planning destroy the momentary intensity and suddenness of the unexpected.

This is how it happened recently with a whiskey presentation that, while it was planned in advance, I had no knowledge of the products, only of the brand itself, Macallan. The bad thing about the whole event was the hours, tasting whiskey and cigars at eleven o’clock in the morning is not the best, but due to the professional nature of the tasting it could not be done otherwise.

For a morning cigar, short-lasting, with a somewhat neutral flavor and easy matching, Partagas Serie D No 6 immediately came to mind – I always move to the known path when the rest is unknown. In essence, it is a Robusto with a 50 ring, just like the Serie D No 4 and No 5 but with a different length, the one in question being nine centimeters while the ones above are one hundred and twenty four and eleven centimeters respectively. Exactly what I needed for the occasion, woody and earthy scents, like all Partagas, but emerging faster, with greater intensity, albeit with a shorter duration.

We started off relatively easy with Macallan Double Cask 12 y.o. As in all Macallan, the aging takes place in sherry oak casks, so we have citrus aromas dominating in all the spirits of the house, and then this particular one gives us other fruits, ending with a strong aftertaste of caramel and chocolate. While here we had 40 alcohol degrees, the next one in the test, aged 15 years, was 43 degrees and much more aromatic & complex. Along with the rest of the aromas in this one we find many spices and dried fruits that give us longer and stronger aftertaste.

We then went back to 40 degrees to try something completely different at 12 years of aging but with more aromas as the Sherry Double Cask has spent more time in sherry casks, hence its title, than the previous ones, giving it a sweeter aftertaste with stronger fruit aromas but at the same time drier. In the end we ended up with a very different product at 43 degrees again but with a collection of spirits from different casks and different years so that the so-called Rare Cask fully justifies its name, giving us together with the high alcohol intensity, even more spices, cinnamon and cloves, making it highly spicy and delicious.

Towards the end of the tasting, I was extremely satisfied and excited with all the Macallan products, as well as with the match of the Partagas. All the above spirits, which for obvious reasons do not need my rating, are excellent, as is the beloved cigar. But even if my opinion was required, with the slight dizziness I had at the time, it would not be possible for me to express it.