Please introduce the median as replacement or addition for the current rating calculation or provide intelligent distribution filters. Every idiot can massively impact the overall ratings with ridiculous ratings. Especially extreme lower end ratings can easily have up to >5 times more impact on the average than ratings on the upper end. Please, it‘s so frustrating to see when a better solution is so easy to provide.

Edit: with 99 total ratings and 87,05 rating (reference date nov/16/2020) the median for edition 6 would be 89 (nearly 90) which clearly is a significant difference in appreciation. Considering the non-linear metric that is followed by >90% of the users this is a different quality level. Root cause for the difference are the three extremely low ratings of bennywhisky (1), Razr (2) and JansonDay (10). Funny thing: if all three rated it a 1 the overall rating would have been much better because not the n lowest and n highest ratings are ignored but all (sic!) ratings with the maximum and minimum value which is completely inconsistent. Manipulators know that of course.

Edit 2: On dec/02/20 rating is back to 88.92, some of the low ratings simply have disappeared or have been „slightly“ modified - it‘s magic. ;)

Edit 3: @maxi_vor95: your behaviour is actually part of the problem. No one should use the rating system to battle low or high ratings... just use it to express your very individual valuation. Otherwise this only leads to rating war which completely destroys the system.

A fine journey.
There’s nothing quite like watching people get out of their prams and lose their minds over Macallan. You see the same kind of stone chucking and name calling in horological circles with Rolex and in the car world where the Ford Focus driver tells you why Bentley is crap and they’d never have one. Of course, reactions like these tend to say much more about the people making the fuss than the thing they’re getting so animated about.

So, it’s finally over. Macallan’s sixth and final NAS edition has landed. It all started so quietly with no.1, no.2 blew the doors off and gave me the ‘fear’ and I’ve been enjoying them to varying degrees ever since. Now it’s time for the last one. And it’s a pretty thing.

Baby you’re so blue! If there’s one thing everyone can agree upon (though some would never just to be obstreperous, cantankerous sourpusses) is that the look of this range has been wonderfully colourful and classy. This final one is a beautiful sky blue that has a backstory tipping its hat at the river Spey.

So. Have they done the range proud and given it a sign off worth drinking?

No. It’s garbage. Macallan are idiots and charlatans and just a marketing company, people who like it are idiots, sheep, they only care about the brand recognition. This isn’t even good enough to wash my feet with. It’s getting 2 points from me. I’m angry and grumpy and petty and I need you to know it. ...

Well, they have, regardless of what the Victor Meldrews' would have you believe. It’s lovely, a perfect word to describe it. Right away the nose telegraphs you all the typical Macallan elements. It’s all there, a sherry character that is unmistakable. It’s rich and solid like a big, old oak cupboard. Polished wood, bees wax, Manuka, raisins, dried plums, dried ginger powder and old, ground cinnamon, varnish and that chocolate thing that Macallan can do so well. I love this kind of smell at this time of year. I’m sitting here in front of a big log fire and it just works. Toasted oak and roasted, toasted crunchy nuts. There’s also a lightness of touch in there. It’s not some sherry monster that flattens everything in it’s path, it envelops everything gently. This is Macallan. Terrible stuff. Made by idiots. No, morons! Did I tell you I hate Macallan?

In the mouth. Mmmmmmmmacallan. Well, well done boys and girls. Just the ticket. It’s not the orange oil bomb of no.2 and it’s less of the coffee and chocolate monster that I found in no.4, more body and heft than 3 and 5. It's sweet on arrival - I initially got flashbacks of sweet rums and sherry, lots of toasted cereals and nuts, the viscosity is as good as any of the others, it sticks to your ribs. It’s rich and warming but never veers towards any kind of harshness, it’s been polished expertly. Cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, gentle oak, toasted nuts and toasted Madeira cake crumbs, there's red fruit in there too. A smear of jam, some sort of red fruit, maybe a wayward raspberry or strawberry. I’m loving this. Another smear of Old Oxford marmalade. Pastry, some bits where it’s been slightly over cooked and the glaze is sticky.

One small glass. 20 minutes after and my palate is still aware of the sherry and wood influence. It’s not a heavy finish but it’s strong and solid and has a lasting effect. ‘Medium+ but extremely persistent’ probably explains it best. Very, very enjoyable. Turns out I like even numbers, this is up there with 2 and 4 without a problem. Lovely.

So a little story. I picked it up yesterday from my local booze emporium and made them open it on the counter and we all had a glass. And then I made the only other lockdown customer in there have a glass too (sharing is the best). This chap was pretty new to whisky and hadn’t heard of Macallan before. His unsolicited reaction was priceless. ‘Oh god, that’s the best thing I’ve ever drank. Period. I want what he’s got. Have you got any more bottles?’ I feel sorry for him. He’s gonna be another one of ‘those people’ who likes something for what it is and, will be no doubt, be told he’s an idiot by people who know better. Such is life.

Cheers people.

Grand Finale

There it is: the 6th and final expression in the Macallan Edition series. I had the privilege to taste it during an online presentation by Macallan, including the whisky but also quite a bit of explanation and promotional material. That was, of course, rife with promotional platitudes, but that’s only logical considering the fact that it was presented by the ambassador of the brand. Having said that: it was all impeccably organized, the parcel I received was out of this world (much more than just a sample of whisky, let’s keep it at that) and to top it all off: the whisky was very, very good.

Wonderful nose on plums, cherries, toffee & coffee, caramelized hazel nuts, figs and a hint of cuberdons. Immediately a good spiciness with cinnamon and ginger. I am immediately reminder of a bakery during the end of year festivities.

Nicely oily, immediately very sweet and again quite spicy, almost piquant event. The first sip is all about cinnamon pastry, roasted nuts, caramel, plum marmalade and coffee. From the second sip forward its more about walnuts and orangettes. Nice evolution in the glass. Yes, this is actually quite complex.

The finish is long, remains spicy and sweet and is simply very satisfying.

Textbook Macallan and a very worthy conclusion of this interesting series. Available for around 135 EUR. It’s my favorite of the series, followed closely by the second one. I’m so sorry I missed out on Edition No 1 and looks like I’ll never get to try that one.

A lot of jam fruitiness and sweetness as well as dark chocolate, vanilla, a little honey, a light herbal note and a pleasant spice.
I have seldom drunk such a balanced whisky (maybe because I'm still relatively young ?!), a highlight of 2020 for me.

EDIT 1: Rating adjusted, thanks to @zholthran for the comment.

EDIT 2: A few weeks after opening the bottle, the drop becomes even BETTER and MORE BALANCED. For me a smooth 89, a top whisky.

It's good, very good. full sherry note, rich in fresh fruit, ginger, chocolate, toffee, vanilla and balanced oak; beautiful, full, long, intense finish; fresh fruit, plum and sweet orange with spices, creamy chocolate. I'll get another, no, two bottles

Big-volume Macallan limited releases bring out insanity on all ends of the spectrum. Looking at how many novice members have this near 100 points is instructive. It's similar on the very low-end, as well. I actually am fairly interested in purchasing this due to a good experience with Edition No. 2 (and, thankfully, it's not too hard to get in the United States where I live). But, man, it'd be frustrating if I had to rely entirely on WB for this. Damn shame.

A really nice dram, full of sherry and oak influence, a great nose, one of the best smell if you give it a few minutes in the glass. The nose is a bit better than the taste. Complex and well structured. I left my personal opinion in this review:

https://youtu.be/2Vz-78mW4mM

Slainte!