Soba45
Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Cask
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
April 12, 2017 (edited August 22, 2017)
I ran a tasting recently with a bunch of workmates. 4 Sherried whiskies, Glendronach 12, Benriach 12, Macallan 12 and Glenfarclas 25 and an Ardbeg 10 to cleanse the palate :-). It was interesting as this was my least favorite of the 4 Sherries. I rated them Glen 25, Glen 12, Ben 12 and Mac 12 but a number rated this their top. It seemed to be those new to whisky and I'm not sure what I'm missing but this just didn't have a lot going for it. The colour looked awesome and I thought right my first Macallan is going to give me sherry in spades. But no...it gave me caramel coloring in spades I suspect. I tried again weeks later but still didn't blow me away. Given it was nearly twice the price of a Glendronach 12 it gets a 3.5. Not bad but definitely doesn't live up to the hype. I'm rounding down rather than up to a 4 given the price. It'll be interesting to see if this opens up a bit now I have the bottle opened. Update: It hasn't really at all. Bitter oak and a sherryish flavouring. It's missing complexity and soul
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Yes i noted later 'natural colour' on the side of the bottle buried in the text. Maybe it's like when you see 'natural flavor ' on an ingredient list as an additive :-)
Of all the 12-year-old sherry malts you mentioned, I'd pick GlenDronach. And Macallan never adds colorant to their whiskies, I must give them that.