Macallan is a nice 'neutral' 'introductory' single malt. Single malts can be a bit of an acquired taste and a Macallan is a good place to start because it is generally lighter/smoother in taste and texture. Macallan 12yr is generally regarded as a crowd pleaser volume single malt that is acceptable to most people.
I'd say just go ahead and enjoy the experience. After you get used to the Macallan taste, you'll start craving for other tastes. Usually one starts to swing towards the Islay malts with their smokier peatier tastes before settling back somewhere in the middle on a taste they particularly like.

 

Hey, how did the tasting go, by the way? Did you find the Macallan more palatable than Dewar's?

I was in Scotland in November and went to their distillery...really cool!

 

It didn't.

I got a marketing / teaching assignment the evening it was scheduled (Wednesday), and couldn't really afford to pass up the money. And we already had events scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday (the other two days they were running the tasting), so I missed out completely.

Sigh.

I'd imagine that they'll be back in Los Angeles in the future, and I'll try to make it then.

In the interim, I bought a bottle of 14-year-old Oban and have tried it. Much better than the Dewar's.

I've heard that Scotland in November is a wee bit chilly; I'd rather go in late Spring or Summer.

With a bit of luck I'll be in Scotland (Edenburgh) in May, 2011, for the annual CFA Institute conference. If so, I hope to combine that with a cross-country horseback riding tour through Argyll. I cannot imagine being there nearly two weeks and not getting to a distillery!

 

D'oh, that sucks. I've been to a couple of Johnnie Walker events in DC, but have missed the MacAllan ones as well.

Oban 14 is definitely a good choice. I don't have a bottle of it yet, but it's on my list.

November was definitely chilly, but it never gets as cold there as it does in many places in the States, so no big deal. Plus, the roads were practically empty most of the time, which made for some good, spirited (no pun intended) drives .

Lastly, if you are able, I recommend going to a really big distillery like MacAllan (6-8 million liters produced per year), and then a really small one like Royal Lochnagar, for example (400,000 liters/yr) if you can. Kinda neat to see the differences. Plus at the small ones you can buy stuff that isn't even exported to the States. If nothing else, the Scotch Whisky Experience, in Edinburgh, is a good idea. Some of it is quite cheesy, but they have the largest whisky collection in the world on display (~3500 bottles, IIRC), and an excellent bar.

Enjoy your trip!

 

I have two bottles of The Macallan that I call my wedding / funeral drinks. Try to save them for special occasions. Glenlvet 12 is my usual.

 

I just tried Laphroaig - an Islay single malt Scotch - and it's fabulous!

It's quite smoky; think of it as the Lapsang Souchong of single malt Scotch. It's wonderful.

 

Things that make happiness.

1. Giganormous bottle of scotch



2. Smooth as a baby's butt scotch.

 

Ugh. I can't stand that stuff. As bad as Lagavulin. Who wants a drink to taste like you're licking a campfire?

Nice picks there, Raj!

Macallan 18 sherry oak is still my hands down winnah.

 

I take it you don't like smoked ham, bacon, salmon, tuna, . . . .

 

Lagavulin - It's like being shoved face first into a peak bog while the adjacent forest is ablaze. It's my favorite "affordable" scotch.