Macallan Fine Oak 21 Year

Here I sit, staring lovingly at this bottle that I originally opened back in April at Whiskyfest DC to share with my pals, @Telex and @Generously_Paul, in our hotel room bottle share. I brought the bottle home, poured a few more samples for friends on my mailing list, and other than that the remains of this bottle have sat, unopened, ever since. 3 months of dust on the outside of the bottle and oxidation inside. I gotta get back inside this one. Now, I’ve had bottles of the 10, 15 and 17 year Fine Oak and found them all to be very good. The biggest discrepancy is the cost increase involved in going from the 15 to the 17- it was about $130. It wasn’t worth it. Both of those were 4 star drams, there just wasn’t of an enough increase in quality over those 2 years to justify doubling the price point. Cue this 21 year old- it’s $200 higher than the 17, at $425. Is it worth it? Well, to be blunt- hell yes it is! This is bottled at a standard 43% ABV and is a beautiful orange, gold in the taster. Big, thick and oily legs run down the Glencairn- teasing you like the most athletic stripper you’ve ever slid a fiver under her garter belt. Healthy droplets of water form after a minute or so- this has been blended down a bit. Why Macallan, why? The nose is so delicious. Dried, red berries and chocolate covered orange wedges, vanilla and caramel creme candies and the most luscious, sherry cask notes I think I’ve experienced in a Macallan. Even more so than the Rare Cask. The depth here is mind-blowing. I could nose this one until it evaporated away. Even some wood notes creep in if you keep your nose down in there. Incredible. The palate brings tropical fruits to a level that would make even the most fruity, Caribbean-island mixed drinks jealous. Orange marmalade, brown sugar, vanilla and more sweet sherry notes dance together almost too perfectly. It’s thick and oily on the tongue and actually felt like it stuck to my tongue at one point. The complexity with the wood tannins and slight ABV heat reel you back in and remind you you’re drinking whisky. It’s that instant that I think I fell in love with this dram. The finish is medium length and surprisingly wood forward. Here’s all the casks making their presence known, forming what amounts to the perfect trifecta: fragrant nose, luscious palate and satisfying finish. That’s how a perfect whisky wins the day, my friends. When you find one that does all 3 so well, well I guess you should stop. I can’t stop because I clearly have a problem, lol. Overall, this is hands down the best Macallan I’ve had to this point- and I’ve had quite a few. I can only imagine what the 30 year Fine Oak might taste like, but the $3500 price point makes that a lottery winning purchase only for me. This one, however, gets 5 glorious stars! Find a bottle, buy a pour and experience this one for yourself. It’s worth every penny. Cheers.

There's a part of me that doesn't even want to review Macallan whisky just in part due to their strange marketing as of late and down right perplexing ever sky rocketing prices. Macallan 21 triple cask or fine oak or whatever they're calling it today. So this is I believe sherry seasoned and bourbon seasoned. I've honestly never heard of someone doing a bourbon seasoning. I'm not sure if it is just cheaper or if they did it in part to avoid the char of a first fill bourbon barrel. The whisky also comes in at a painfully low 43% so we can assume chill filtering and in general it's going to look a bit on the cheaper side. I feel like whisky consumers should come up with a term to properly explain these more extreme low proof whisky expressions. Nose - I know it isn't all sherry but I'm getting sherry bomb like amounts of it on the nose. Super complex, when i first just gently nose it, all I get are dark fruits and berries. When I dig in more i start to get vanilla, toasted oak, and a baked bread. Taste - Vanilla, oak spice, a bit of a berries and dark fruits (very light), Water brings out more of the vanilla and oak and kills the fruity flavors and kills any hints of peat. Complex but extremely light massively lacking in mouth feel. Finish - there is actually a touch of peat and salt over vanilla on the finish. A touch of leather and it does have a nice oak whisky note, I'm not good on explaining that note but I really enjoy it. I paid 488 which I'm told is becoming a "value". I'm torn on score. It's complex and has great flavors, but it's light, thin, and just frankly so under proofed that it is seriously hurting the experience. So my scoring system 5 stars - life changing, the rarest of the rare 4 stars - even if not your style or a bit out of your price range, you need to get. 3 stars - a must buy if in your price range or your wheel house. A try for those where it's a bit out of that range. 2 stars - good whisky but not one to go out of your way for. Worth having on the bar if it's well within your means. 1 star - this is now a whisky you likely should pass on if you're a connoisseur but might be an ok starter whisky or something to mix. If cheap enough for you, nothing wrong with it, maybe one to give to people you don't like that much to save your good bottles. less than 1 star - bad whisky, just avoid even if free. I have to say the flavor is a 3, nose is a 4.25, the finish is a 3.75, and the mouth feel is a 0. For me that's a 2.5. Mouth feel REALLY matters.

Well here I am at my 300th taste, and I’ve been saving this one for the occasion. Way back in April of 2018 @LeeEvolved cracked open this bottle when we were in DC for Whiskyfest. I brought back a sample and decided long ago that it was for reserved for a milestone review. The Fine Oak series focuses on high quality casks and is triple matured in a combination of sherry seasoned American and European oak and ex bourbon American oak. I’ve had the 15 and 17 year old Fine Oaks and found them to be...average and highly overpriced. Let’s see how the 21 does. Bottled at 43% ABV and is natural color of dark amber and I believe it is chill filtered. The nose is rich, elegant, nutty sherry. Heavy raisins and honeyed dates, blackberries, chocolate, oranges, and chocolate oranges. Really beautiful oak, brown sugar, molasses and toffee. This really is a fantastic nose. Sweet pipe tobacco, vanilla and apricots. Caramel cream candies, hazelnut, walnuts and Brazil nuts. Strong breakfast tea with a touch of mint. Very refined and perfectly aged. The palate has just the right amount of wood spice to wake up the senses. Pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Tobacco, dark sherry, the kind of darker sherry that comes with great age, not young sherry that is full of the much sweeter fruity notes. Vanilla cream and lots of caramel and hazelnuts. A light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is lightly oily and mouthwatering. The finish is medium long with caramel chews, vanilla, sherry and is fairly dry. When we had this in DC it was the clear winner of the night, and we had some impressive bottles that night, including Ardbeg 23, GlenDronach 21, and Bruichladdich Black Arts. Trying this again was a treat, but sadly didn’t carry the same magnificence it did them. The nose is still fantastic, but the palate was somewhat less than I remembered it. In no way is it less than great, but that night it was a solid 5 star dram, now it is a “mere” 4.5-4.75. Looking back on my bottle of GlenDronach 21 I think I would choose that one in a head to head. Same age, similar sherry profile, but the GD clocks in at 48% vs the Macallan’s 43%, and its half the price. This Macallan Fine Oak 21 is like a low yield sherry bomb. It won’t saturate your senses with over the top sweetness like some other sherry bombs out there, but it more than gets the job done and still leaves you ready for more. This is exponentially greater than the 15 and 17 year expressions and is worthy of its moniker. Thanks for going all out Lee, it was a real treat. Cheers

I never imagined it would be this good. This Macallan 21yo Fine oak has destroyed all my previous paradigms about this renowned distillery. An incredible, out of this world dram, that i managed to obtain a sample. Later, i found out the price of the full bottle and immidiately knew i might never drink this jewel again. But i am so glad i have had at least a sample to write this review. Bottled at 43%abv, tawny color. On the nose, the most fruity, elegant and perfumed aroma ever. Starts with blackberry marmalade, sweet plums, gooseberries. A dim, surrounding sawdust; Very fruity. Dehydrated fruits. Berries. Red fruits rise after a minute. The fresh gooseberries have monopolized the aroma. After a first sip it released the most incredible dates notes ever. A thick honey. After two sips, a fancy home-made toffee appeared. Simply amazing. The palate was one of the most enjoyable i have ever found in a whisky. Dulce de leche. Some white chocolate notes. Marvelous red wine; raisins. Typical macallan sawdust. I love the honey and the white chocolate on it. Some dehydrated fruits and dim saltiness. It is very well made. Third sip was incredibly sweet, the toffee here is not your regular whisky caramel, this is a top craft. Some mixed feelings about the aftertaste. Dry woody finish. Oaky. A Paper sheet. Long lasting peppery and ginger spice. Very elegant. For lovers of oaky finishes, this is the most perfect one ever, sadly i am not a very fond fan of overly oaked finishes, but i have to recognize how good this one is. The spiciness is lovely. I have to leave my own preferences aside, this is actually incredible. Overall, this is not only going to be on my top ten this year, it most certainly will be at the podium. I am not a Macallan fan, i am actually a Macallan Skeptic, but this one blew my mind. I don't believe you can achieve this greatness in a whisky for a bottle that costs less than 400, maybe at that price some Glendronachs, Lagavulins, or Taliskers might achieve it. Absolutely breathtaking, my score for it is 100 over 100.

PRICE: $450-550 INFO: Speyside single malt Scotch whisky from the Macallan distillery. This has been aged 21 years in 3 different casks: Spanish oak ex-sherry, American oak ex-sherry, and American oak ex-bourbon. Bottled 43% ABV. This review is for the 2004 bottling (gray display box). The latest offering is the 2011 bottling (wood display box). NOSE: 92/100. Definitely fine. Fine oak is never as powerful as the sherry oak series. Very rounded, balanced, and complex. No dominant notes. But there’s butterscotch, vanilla, apricots, passion fruit crème Brule, sultanas. On second nosing, there’s orange rinds and even a little smokiness. PALATE: 96/100. I had to say “WOW!” with this more-expensive-than-heroin liquid still in my mouth, and almost spat some out. Immediately, there’s the sherry. But it’s got so much more game than the sherry oak. A fucking dancer on the tongue. Spinning and moonwalking. Guava, papaya, just tropical and playful behind that rich sherry. Bourbon sugar and citrus elements on the back end. Thick and oily. Don’t add water. FINISH: 90/100. Yeah, just hold this shit in your mouth forever. Swallowing is going to be a bummer. It’s medium in length and old wood spices. All that delicious tropical fruitiness fades. So smooth. And you just want another sip. OVERALL: Macallan to Mercedes Benz analogy. Mercedes is obviously passionate about making great cars. You can get an awesome Mercedes for $120,000. Their passion is behind those cars. You can get an overpriced shit Mercedes for $35,000. Their need for money by appealing to the lowest common dominator is behind those cars. I understand why Macallan is so revered after trying this exquisite dram. I had this side-by-side with a Balvenie 21 port wood, and it made the Balvenie feel like a drooling infant. MARK: 93/100. VALUE FOR MONEY: The goodiness is in the box. The only question is, are those spare $ in your bank account?

Nose- ginger, orange zest, banana, juicy pear, creamy vanilla, spiced oak Palate- Sweet honey, gingerbread, vanilla, light caramel, orange rind, wood spice Finish- Long finish with delicious fruits, citrus and spice Really balanced and delicious whisky. I would be thrilled with this if it was 100 dollars. But at six times the price? No no no no no way I would ever buy a bottle of this. Lovely nose with the normal macallan notes (ginger, citrus, oak) with a palate that could be sipped for days. Finish is nice and long with an oily mouthfeel and nice notes of fruits and light spice.