The industry is moving to NAS, and we’re seeing more and more of these expressions, and here the Macallan has surprised us with an Age statement (a move from the color coded NAS expressions of yesteryear? I mean the Gold,Amber,Sienna etc), I was not expecting this. However, Spanish Sherry casks are scarce and expensive, and this is a combination of American and European Sherry oak. FYI -the proportion of American oak ex-Sherry casks is higher than in the 12 Year Old Sherry Oak, but no ex-bourbon casks are used as in the 12 Year Old Fine Oak release. The macallan is a huge brand and enjoys high popularity in most markets, so this is a big move on their behalf. I was quite curious to see how this will fare against the 12 Sherry Oak, and the Fine Oak…
This is originally a US edition, but you may find some in the EU market as well.
Nose : Rather restrained at first with only a bit of sherry influence, apples, orange marmalade, and a tiny bit of rubber, and candied ginger, with a sweet note, honeyed cereal,sour notes too.
Palate: More sherry influence here with dried fruit mainly sultana, caramelized apple, and baking spices such as cinnamon, ginger powder and clove. Honey sweetness and ripe orange, chocolate more towards the bitter kind… And then oak.
Finish : Oak, dark chocolate and caramel with a salty edge.
Conclusion: This is a fine whisky, and frankly it was better than I had anticipated. Although it not as good as the 12 sherry oak, it is well made, very enjoyable, and the sherry notes are there, with a good balanced profile. I feel that Macallan fans will be happy with the result, and this will indeed be a popular Xmas present for fans of the brand, and for those looking for an under 50 quid whisky that bares the Macallan Crest.
Score: 83/100
Available at The Whisky Exchange for £48.45
If you’re based in the USA you can find it locally for less (and 750 ml bottle)
Sounds really delicious and reasonably priced, too! I was always wondering what was going on at Macallan.
First they seem to axe the Sherry-oak-edition, then the Fine-oak prices rocket sky-high.
At Interwhisky in Frankfurt in 2012, the German distributor even told me that the sherry-oak-bottlings were about to be cancelled(?), ever since prices have been on the rise (even for Fine Oak…)
Personally I do not like the new NAS bottlings (amber, ruby, etc. Going through all the “United Colours” of Whisky?^^)
I’d love to try out the Sherry Oak 12 yo, but sadly, charging over 90 Euros per bottle, it has become too expensive for me (years ago it was half this price-tag, 44 Euros, still expensive for a 12yo). Gotta stick to the 12yo Fine Oak…
Greetings
Cato
Indeed. very true.
there are some deals, i think i was able to score a 12 sherry oak a few months ago under 70 EUR but that was on sale in NL.
I wish the 12 and 18 sherry would go down in price, as I find it hard to justify paying those amounts…
Thanks for reading Whisky Israel, and commenting Cato.