Macallan Fine Oak 21 Year

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.

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.

Best whisky I've ever had. Got to try this with my dad on a special occasion... Very interesting tangerine and dark chocolate taste. Sherry and peat take the background. A lot of flavors going on but they blend very well and aren't fighting with each other.

My dreams came true when i finally got this bottle and experienced a quality in whisky i think can be recognized by any one who loves to drink well. I must say that for my taste this product really touch the perfection. I enjoyed an ounce of this smoking an incredible trinidad fundadores and listening a vinyl of Coltraine and i'd pay that prize again anytime. Totally worth the money it costs.