Yay for surprise scotch presents! Katherine grabbed this for me a few weeks ago so obviously I had to get her help for the review. You may recognize MacAllan as the scotch Joel McHale/Jeff Winger drinks on Community/The Today Show, apparently.

Asking for ‘a” MacAllan is a bit like rolling into Boston and asking for ‘a’ Sam Adams – you’re going to need to be more specific. They have 6 ranges, the Sherry Oak and the Fine Oak being the principle expression ranges. They also have something called the Lalique line, the bottle for which looks like some kind of disco mace.

One last note, you may wonder how this is both a Highland and a Speyside scotch – the distillery is in the Highlands but the brand claims Speyside as its “original and spiritual home”.

Neat: me – fruity smell, new forest/green wood, strong flavour. Katherine – simple, rish and fruity on the nose, alcohol burn, no peat. Spicy & sweet with bitter aftertaste.

With ice: bitter aftertaste remains but much fruitier.

MacAllan 12y Sherry Oak – 40% 750ml – $89.95 – Highlands/Speyside

Try it? Definitely. Buy it? It’s a good entry to the line, yes.