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FOOD blogger walks into a bar with a couple of celebs, influencers, radio men and “social media aggregators”. But it’s not just a bar. It’s MESH Club in Johannesburg. And this is no joke. It’s the launch of The Macallan’s Fine Oak range.

Without knowing it, we motleys are reinforcing a prevalent position: whisky, in this modern age, is a great leveller. In the same way late-’80s rave brought sports jocks within dancing distance of drag queens, everyone’s invited.

We are here to mark the coming of the ages: 12-year-old, 15-year-old and 18-year-old. I’m excited. My whisky club is excited. My local liquor vendor is excited. This illustrious distillery has, for what seems like eternity, offered us little more than its colourfully named no-age statements, but The Macallan now has these Fine Oaks. Surveying the tasting room, listening to brand manager Dada Maseko wax lyrical about each expression, it seems like those gathered are excited too. Mostly. A few are still trying to figure out if it’s OK to swirl.

We move on to dinner at Marble, where head chef and partner David Higgs has paired each course with a different whisky. We are being spoilt, but we’re also being given space to do our own thing. And it’s here, in the impulsive opinions and honest reactions, that The Macallan’s broad appeal lies. One doesn’t need to know whisky to like whisky. And these Fine Oaks are highly likeable.

I believe the 12 will do astoundingly well. I’m sipping it now as I write, searching for those powerful closing words, the phrase to bring this missive full circle, the punch line. It needs to be something for everyone. Hold on. Here it is. Sláinte!

— Our whisky writer Dram The Man would like you to know he is not a whisky aficionado. He’s a whisky lover.