The MacCutcheon 127 1/3 (50 ml Oceanic Airlines bottle)
Last April 1, we posted a set of tasting notes on an expression we thought most appropriate to April Fools’ Day: The MacCutcheon 60. The MacCutcheon 60 is a fictional dram from the now completed ABC television series Lost. Little did we expect that the MacCutcheon 60 post would become our most popular post of all time (measured in page hits). Now, we’re well aware that the post’s popularity is not due to the huge number of Lost fans among whisky aficionados, but rather due to the rather rabid, über-interested Lost fans out there on the internets researching every last random detail of a series that, frankly, didn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense. John and I began as fans, and watched it through to the end, but by the end, we’d both tired of being played much more like a one-stringed box guitar than like a Stradivarius. At any rate, I’m not sure what makes fans search and search for meaning in every last feature of what is otherwise a meandering and meaningless series, but I suspect it’s somehow analogous to finding Jesus in toast or the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese. That said, on to the review:
Tasting notes:
The back of the label of this $590,000 mini notes this dram’s status as the biggest damn age statement on any whisky or whiskey ever produced by man: “We know it’s easily twice as good as the MacCutcheon 60 because it’s easily twice as old as the MacCutcheon 60.” I assume that the 1/3 in the age statement cinches that fact for those who weren’t so strong in basic mathematics. On the nose, this dram lacks the black smoke of the 60, but replaces it–and boldly–with unadulterated polar bear droppings (see the label). No doubt a nod to the locally grown movement, it’s important to note that this nod would not be possible without the powers of time travel found in the hatch–or the cave, or the orchid or whatever it was (I forget now, and can’t be bothered to care any more–or look it up). The mouth is overpowered by the nose, as one might expect, and the finish will make every distiller, professional and otherwise, thankful that no one had to watch over this barrel for its entire aging period. A dram this old should have mellowed much more than this one did, but making arctic animal droppings such a central ingredient apparently overwhelmed any carbon filtering the inside of the barrel (first fill two buck chuck butt, by the way) could provide. In a word: dreadful.
The MacCutcheon 127 1/3 is Han van Meegeren’s Christ with the Adulteress–It fetched one of the highest prices at auction ever for a forgery, even though it got him in a lot of trouble in the end. We’re hoping we can avoid the trouble. And yes, we think this fake is that good.
Happy April Fools’ Day!
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