Macallan Fine Oak 21 Year

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

Simplement doux et délicieux

Another amazing rich highland - this one is even better than the last as it’s less sweet and fruity.