The Macallan a Drink for the Occasion

This was a College Essay I did back in the Fall of 2018
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The Macallan a Drink for the Occasion​

Alcohol has been in time memorial considered to be the nectar of the gods as in old times it was used as a medicine for ailments. Consuming alcohol in small doses can provide pleasant results, but with overuse and abuse anyone can in turn poison themselves beyond recognition. Enjoying a fine drink is an experience and it’s a social part of our culture. With a sip, a taste, a gulp or even a shot, people would find themselves becoming much more vocal or even relaxed. There’s a myth of "Beer before liquor, never sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear. And this is a myth because drinking alcohol is just a process the body’s liver sorts through, and obviously the more you drink, the unhealthier it gets.

When it comes to drinking though, maximizing the social interaction, the choice of alcohol on hand and your health, whisky by far is the way to go. It’s just alcohol in general is so broad that for anyone unaccustomed to it, you’d be gambling for any random amount of experiences. But if you want something slow and something to ease you into a fine conversation amongst peers. Then I recommend enjoying a glass of scotch a premium whisky from the Isles of Scotland, the Macallan single malt scotch.

To properly enjoy a fine dram of scotch you need to do several things. And there are also a bunch of no-no’s which can basically make your experience a bit unpleasant. I believe a fine scotch like the Macallan 18 is a good in-between whisky for the average person who enjoys tasting their drinks. What’s more is that the Macallan distillery doesn’t put coloring additives to make their drinks have a dark brown color. The color in whiskies comes from contact with the wooden barrels (Kieron Elliot).

So what makes the Macallan 18 a good in-between for the average liquor connoisseur? Lets start with price, the average 750mL bottle goes anywhere from $170 - $400. Amongst other premium whiskies like Glenfiddich 30 which has an average price of $899- $2,999 or Glenlivet XXV which starts from $525 - $2,199. A simple search into premium whisky brands will show you that it can become quite a luxury to purchase. I myself manage to pick up a bottle around $190 back in 2015.

Next, let’s move on to enjoying our glass of a Macallan 18. When pouring a glass you don’t just dump whisky to fill it up, it’s not a drinking contest of how much whisky you can consume. The amount of your pour is respective to how much time you want to spend on your drink. Because whisky is more of an aromatic beverage, having too much whisky to let it sit exposed will inevitably change its taste. Most men on average have a pour which is equivalent to the size of 2 ½ shot glasses in their glass. Once you’ve received your glass, the first mistake which most people make is they swirl their glass full of whisky like wine. You don’t need to do that, whisky has an alcoholic content of 40% or more, while wine has 12-14% alcoholic content.

To enjoy your whisky, have whiff first, place you’re glass near your nose and smell the contents which have been poured. For the Macallan 18, you’ll catch the sherry smell of oak and if it was your first time around probably a burning sensation, through your olfactory senses. Don’t be alarmed that is normal, the first times around will be a bit rough, but if you wait a bit and take a chance to smell the aromatic flavors of the whisky it will improve your experience. The Macallan 18 is well known for its dried fruit, the ginger with hints of citrus, cinnamon and vanilla.

Now comes to taking a swig, your first drink should be like a bite, where it doesn’t fill your entire mouth, but it’s not a sip either. You want to kind of chew or roll the flavors of the whisky around, before drinking it down. Initially you may be hit with a tingling sensation on your tongue, followed by a slight burn or numbing. And then as you finish or drink it down you’ll begin to feel the warmth of your drink permeate throughout your being. All in that, you experience a multitude of things in those moments, on your palate you may be able to taste the dried fruit, with spices, citrus and a oaky taste. In the lingering aftertaste you may have a sweet toffee like woody aroma as you exhale.

All in all the experience of enjoying a fine malt scotch, can be carried with peers or if you need some therapeutic time on your own, one just needs to drink responsibly. I would evaluate the Macallan 18 as a 4 stars out of 5. I’m giving 1.5 stars for its affordability, 1.5 stars for its refined taste, 1 star for enjoyability with others or by ones own company. Amongst many other premium alcoholic beverages, the Macallan 18 is decently priced at bars where a glass is easily $12 where in certain areas it easily surpasses $20.

When coming to a drink a fine dram, you may be feeling adventurous and try out what ever the bar has on hand. And depending on the amount of time you wish to spend in such an atmosphere, know several things about drinks.

Let's begin with Whisky or scotch, its a fine smooth liquor which is savory towards your olfactory senses as well as your palate. You want to whiff your glass which was finely poured for you. This would stimulate your experience and it would also tell you if such a drink were aggressive or rather pleasant. Some whiskies vary and with very few tweaks can increase in flavor or aggressiveness with a mix of a few things. Water or juice.

Works Cited​

Wikipedia contributors. "Whisky." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Dec. 2018. Accesed 11 Dec. 2018.


Kieron Elliott “The national ambassador for Macallan teaches us how to properly enjoy scotch” TheStreet: Investing Strategies, The Street TV, Youtube 20 Oct. 2016 Accessed 11 Dec 2018