Consider this, the year is 305 BC and you're but one of 6,000 (pretty much untrained) Rhodian civilians about to face one of the ancient world's most fearsome generals, in fact, the very son of the successor to Alexander the Great; the Alexander the Great. Oh, and he's brought along with him an army of 40,000 highly trained soldiers, 350 ships and is so confident he'll defeat you that he even called a thousand pirate ships to be sure to follow close by because there'll be much leftover to plunder.

It doesn't sound great. And for what it's worth, the talk of the ancient world was that everyone pretty much felt sorry for the Rhodians too. But it's also what would come to be known as one of the greatest battles of the ancient world - it was the Siege of Rhodes.

The Siege of Rhodes was the epic of the time!

The island of Rhodes lies right at the ends of the Greek archipelago, as far as could be from the capital of Athens, and actually sits closest to Turkey. Yet, it's historically been an incredibly important city because of its ability to control the entrance to the Aegean Sea, which sits along the entire Greek coastline. Nevertheless, Rhodes had always had a policy of remaining neutral - this was before Switzerland was Switzerland - and would even sign treaties of neutrality to ensure that it was seen as nothing more than an important bouncer to the club, if you will. It did however sort of like Ptolemy I of Egypt just a tiny bit more than everyone else, and that did not go down well with one Demetrius Poliorcetes, said son of the successor to Alexander the Great (in fact, Ptolemy I too was another successor to Alexander the Great; what can you say, the man had a huge kingdom!).

And so Demetrius would take it upon himself to lay siege on Rhodes. For the purposes of doing so, he would go as far as to build his own harbour, establish his own pier from which he could launch ships, and even invented what was to be called a siege tower, or a Helepolis. Yet, the Rhodians weren't giving up without a fight. Rather than rely on might, they counted on their craftiness - they built fake walls, did little night time raids, even dug underground tunnels, and of course had help from some other formidable forces. An incredibly painful year long siege would finally come to an end with both sides calling it quits before things got too expensive, and to celebrate the Rhodians took the things Demetrius had left over (remember that siege tower?) and turned it into a towering tribute to the Greek sun god Helios. This would come to be known as the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!

The Colossus of Rhodes.

Unfortunately, the statue didn't last long. There were rumors that the statue was weak at the knees, and so when a great earthquake had hit, the statue would collapse after just over five decades from when it was erected. Nevertheless, so impressive were the bodily shaped chunks of the statue that its ruins were left untouched as visitors from around the world would come to Rhodes just to see it.

A rather esoteric connection of antiquity perhaps, and yet it was this very feature that had caught Macallan's attention in the 1980's as part of a series of advertisements that emphasised a blend of humor and historical references. The campaign was of course named Colossus of Nose, and was created by art director David Holmes and copywriter Nick Salaman, and was intended to allude to the "towering aroma" from the King of Malts. So successful at tickling the public, the campaign was in fact awarded the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in the year of its release, 1988!

Now fast forward to 2015 and the King of Malts would start what has been a now decade-long collection of whiskies known as the Archival Series, whose goal is to map the story of how The Macallan went from a remote farmstead on the River Spey to one of the world's most recognised, collected and celebrated single malt Scotch, and therefore pays tribute to Macallan's classic and iconic advertisements from the 1970's, 80's and 90's which helped paved the way for Macallan to the world - who doesn't love a good throwback?

Each edition is titled as a Folio, with Folio 1 paying tribute to the first time Macallan ever sported an advertisement in The Times newspaper (where it sat right next to the crossword, and as it so happens was also the work of David Holmes an Nick Salaman.

It's said that there are to be 24 Folio's, and thus far in 10 years we've seen just 8, which goes a long way in showing how few and far between, and considered, Macallan has been with the Archival Series.

And today we're incredibly fortunate to get to try Macallan's Archival Series' Folio 8 Colossus of Nose. Aged predominantly in first-fill and refill European Sherry Oak casks, the NAS is bottled at 43% ABV.

Let's give it a go!

Whisky Review: Macallan Archival Series Folio 8 Colossus Of Nose, 43% ABV

Appearance: Amber with slow legs.

Aroma: The initial impression on the aroma is an unmistakably old-school Sherried whisky with a sense of a rather distinguished age. Opens with rich dark fruits and deep aged Sherry warmth with layers that unfold gradually, with touch of rancio. Toffee brittle, golden apples, golden syrup, honey and sultanas. As it opens up, the fruit turns darker–raisins and dates–followed by a pleasant, cereal-y malt note that reminds me of honeyed muesli. There's a mild gristiness, mustiness and antique wood store making an appearance. Opens up with trail mix nuts, wet stone minerality, a faint leathery edge and but a trace of grandpa's tobacco box.

Taste: Medium-bodied, with a substantial weight. It's got a warmth and spice that leans towards European oak that gives structure and tension without dominating. Smooth, spiced and distinctly Christmassy, opening with gingerbread, caramel and honey spiced with ginger. There’s a lift of orange peel and citrus zest before it deepens into darker, aromatic spices like black cardamom and cinnamon. European oak asserts itself through espresso bitterness and toasted wood. 

Finish: Rather long, the lingering sweetness of dates and sultana, and the same oak-driven personality, continuing with robust spice. European oak aromatics bring out more prolonged notes of cacao and bitter mocha, tapering off with toasted almonds and roasted walnuts. It returns to slightly grainy malt grist.

My Thoughts:

Here's a spiced, oak-forward expression from The Macallan with an aromatic depth that feels both familiar, slightly nostalgic and almost rare today. Compared to Folio 6 and 7, it  has noticably greater weight and presence. There's the distinctive tannic grip and bittersweet woodiness of classic European oak-led Macallans, and yet it remains balanced enough for the the inherent maltiness of the spirit to come through.

Amongst The Macallan's ultra-premium offerings at WOWS are the Fine & Rare expressions - with an exclusively available 1965 bottling, intended as a nod to Singapore's 60th year of independence. Also on show was the Red Collection with a trio of incredibly aged whiskies presented together in a handcrafted trunk.

This is a bottle I’d definitely want in my collection (which I could reasonably afford). Unfortunately, I missed the chance when it recently debuted at the World of Wines and Spirits luxury travel collection at Changi Airport, but I’ll still be keeping an eye out!

@CharsiuCharlie