Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year

I recently stumbled upon this one for $55. And while I assumed that this would not be a particularly great value, curiosity got the better of me. This one was a core component of the Macallan portfolio until it was recently discontinued, seemingly replaced by the NAS double cask Gold Edition. Let's see if Macallan made a mistake or were right to let this one die off. Nose: Floral, fruity, sweet, and "perfumey." Standard Speyside notes of vanilla, honey, toffee, malt, sugar cookie, banana, and apple. There are also the classic Macallan date, plum, fig notes, evidence of sherry cask aging (no leather notes, surprisingly). Notes of caramel, butterscotch, walnut, hazelnut, and dense oak aromas suggest bourbon barrel presence. Decent. Palate: Sweet, light, floral, fruity. More apple, vanilla, toffee, honey, caramel. Walnut and hazelnut as well. There are now distinct notes of zesty orange, milk chocolate, and truffle. Maybe even a slight pineapple to compliment the orange citrus. Reminiscent of the 15, just not quite as impressive. Nevertheless, it's tasty. Sherry notes are largely the same, plum, fig, raisin, date. But despite the presence of this darker notes, this drinks as a lighter Speyside. The lower percentage of sherry casks used in the Fine Oak line causes this to deviate from traditional Macallan. Finish: Moderate in length. Here, it's completely oak driven. Cinnamon and baking spice. Quality oak. Lighter notes of vanilla and honey persist. It's perfectly pleasant, but lacking. 40% ABV was not the right choice here. 43 likely would've made a considerable improvement to what is an acceptable but unremarkable finish. And here we are. Middle of the road. Nothing really to write home about. I'd never complain about receiving a pour of what I'd consider a decent whisky, but you also won't find me lobbying Macallan/Edrington for the dismissal of this one from the lineup. Everything that this one does, the 15 year does much better. It's deeper, richer, and more refined. The extra 5 years and 3% ABV do wonders for this one. Even though it's almost double the price, it's a much better VFM. This would've been a solid deal at $40 or less, but at $55, I've gotten both 12s for less. And those statements end any discussion on the merit of keeping this one around, at least for me. It's a shame to see an age-stated staple disappear, but I won't cry over spilled Macallan. Not this one at least.

Ok, it is ok. Actually it is a little better than ok if you havent taste any other whiskies or dont care about tasting as the "sport" we "self proclaimed connoisseurs" often do. It is bottled at 40% abv, the color is yellow (actually it is jonquiripe corn) (i totally slayed this app with that term lol), and you can see water in its borders, not too much but it is there, taking points out of this dram. On the nose is pleasant, not difficult or complex, with honey, butterscotch, butter, vanilla cream, nutty, and medicinal plants. You have to understand something, i have read that we humans percieve a range of aromas and one aroma or "note" can be 3 or 4 things for various people but really is one single note, that happens here. For me, the vanilla cream, butterscotch, butter, and honey is the same note that tricks my brain into percieving 4 diferent things, but actually that is one note. I think i read this somewhere and now i know what they (the writer) was talking about. It might sound to you that the nose should be awesome but it really is fair. nice notes but nothing too breathtaking. On the palate is more interesting, starts sweet with honey and caramel notes, to change into this FINE WOOD flavor. Actually the name of this whisky is Fine Oak, and that is exactly how it feels, as tasting some new, young, piece of wood, my brain tells me (strangely) that this feels as if my new furniture with its new colors has become whisky. Excuse me for my crazyness when describing but i believe that is the true intention of writing this reviews, to tell you what this whisky makes me feel or remember. While getting the fine wood note, you will feel the trademark spicyness from The Macallan. Macallan can be easily detected by any Macallan drinker in a blindfolded tasting, because its spicy flavor is very characteristic. The finish is long and for the first time i felt a whisky which is mouth watering. it is better on the palate than on the nose, i believe the weakest part is that it is light bodied, and actually is too easy to drink, very smooth, makes it not too appealing. Overall it is a better whisky than most 10 year old ones, and the brand name is always elegant so give it a try.

A curious find at an out-of-the-way liquor store--side-by-side with Macallan's new non-age-stated entry level Gold. And for $15 less, to boot! I've never been a particular partisan for the Macallan (it's always seemed more like a status symbol than a scotch to be drunk), but felt like it was a sign from above. And the whisky is itself nice, if not setting the world on fire. Smell is honey, melon, lemon, heather/lavender, vanilla. Faint red fruits, spongecake. Taste arrives soft--no kick to speak of--and delivers lots of melon (cantaloupe! honeydew!), lemon, honey, and a slightly indistinct floral character. The dry, woodsy finish is blink-and-you-miss-it short, but the overall experience is quite pleasant. Not mad at the purchase, though I'm not particular mad that it's gone from the shelves either.

Two months have passed since my first tasting of this whiskey. Two months of me sharpening my tasting skills (hopefully) and two months the whiskey has been oxidizing in a bottle that’s about 7/8th full. Time to revisit and see if I notice any differences. Nose: I get fruity, chocolaty sherry, orange peels and some astringency. Palate: Creamy, smooth, oily, chocolate, sherry and oak. Finish: Starts pleasant enough but turns a little bitter, good thing it’s short. I definitely enjoyed this more the second time around.

Very thin and very light. Nose has lots of oak, a little maple, vanilla, banana and a nice nose tingling mix of heat and pepper spice. Taste is the same as the nose here, sweet, then peppery and with a surprising amount of heat, showing it’s youth. Finish is the best part, nice, long and spicy. It’s good, just not my preference in a scotch, almost feels more like identity crisis rather than complex. Water completely ruins this pour.

Better than I expected based on the reviews. Finish goes on for a decent amount of time with raspberries and oak. Spicier than most macallans. Not upset I opened this bottle that has been sitting in the back of my cabinet. It’s thin and a bit young on the palate but it’s a ten year so you know what your getting. Cheers!