There's certain whiskies that you can recognize even when blindfolded. Laphroaig has its classic medicinal bandage aroma. Lagavulin has the brine and peat. Dalwhinnie and Balvenie the honey. Macallan has that unmistakable Sherry influence. As soon as I poured this sample (graciously provided by Davie--thank you!!!!), I was able to smell that nutty aroma. You get the aromas of hazelnut and soft leather. In northern India, they have these exquisite Jain temples---peaceful and meditative---and the air is filled with the aroma of sandalwood. That's what this is like. On the palette, the classic Macallan still holds. I get honey and orchard fruits. With a dose of Brazil nuts. Lovely dram. I've been ruined by the Fine Oak 15, hence the four stars. But...if it wasn't for that Fine Oak, I'm sure I'd rate this higher. Davie---thank you for another Macallan experience! Retasted 5/29: thanks to Lee as part of our Scotland sampling team, I got to try this again. Initial sentiment still holds---I know we all hold the standards of some distilleries higher than others because of the premium price (Macallan, Balvenie, Ardbeg), but I think, you can do far worse than these stalwarts. One of my favorite distilleries---hard to find much fault (except price). Thanks Lee for the sample!