Take the Macallan's 'flagship' if you will, the 18-Yr. Very refined, very well-aged, very simple in every way, a truly remarkable SMS. Now, compare that with the 12-Yr and you can start to understand the nature of the pet name here.

It isn't quite as smooth or refined yet, even though it is still quite tasty, it is nowhere near the finished quality of the 18-Yr. Or, for that matter, any other SMS older than 12 years old (except for Loch Dhu-do and Glenfiddich maybe, and a few select other SMS's too numerous to mention here).