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Age Doesn’t Always Make Whisky Better

Taste Vs Time

What really defines a quality Scotch?

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Thomas Peter/Reuters

From The Macallan Rare Cask Society.

You’re a person of impeccable taste. That’s why you always reach for the oldest Scotch. Right? Not so, says The Macallan, who’s been distilling single malt whisky from its signature small stills in the Scottish Highlands since 1824. So master distiller Bob Dalgarno and “Master of Wood” Stuart MacPherson are making a bold “no-age statement” with The Macallan’s newest release, The Macallan Rare Cask. By not focusing solely on the age of their spirit, Dalgarno and MacPherson can focus exclusively on taste, mixing the brightness of newer whiskies with the complexity of older ones. Working with the finest 1% of The Macallan’s Sherry-seasoned oak casks, The Macallan Rare Cask lets taste, not age, finally do the talking.