Macallan’s new Rare Cask uses handpicked first-fill sherry casks from the top 1% of barrels currently aging at the distillery. The result is a richer, darker, more chocolately version of Macallan with a thicker profile and a complex palate of raisins, sultana, orange peel, and ginger. With the current market craze for first-fill sherry whisky, a la Aberlour A’Bunadh and Glendronach, the Rare Cask represents an aggressive and more modern approach from the typically conservative Macallan. This is bold, chewy, full-bodied single malt that showcases the deep stocks and the immaculate wood management from Scotland’s most iconic distillery. It’s a whisky that provides a peek into the most choice sherry-aged whiskies currently available.