Reverend357
Macallan Fine Oak 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
December 25, 2017 (edited January 28, 2018)
Well, Christmas is over, and so is my advent calendar. Lucky for me, I still got 40 3cl samples I ordered for christmas. I enjoyed tasting new stuff each evening, turned into a ritual to relax. Also, I share them with my dad, so family bonding is also part of the equation. Might as well continue the daily dram. Tonight I picked one pretty much at random. Turned out to be the Macallan Fine Oak 12. Macallan is a name that is in my opinion overhyped and overpriced. Still damn good whisky though. On the nose I don't get much. Mostly the malty barley notes, some vanilla and citrus. The taste is suprisingly aggressive. Very, very bitter up front for about 2-3 seconds, and then it melts into sweet barley, some light vanilla cream, bit of citrus and honey. The sweet honeyed barley is what stays with you for quite a while. I normally don't like bitter stuff, but that melting into sweetness is actually really nice. It's like eating really dark chocolate filled with sweet mousse. Same feeling. Bitter, melting, sweet. Enjoyable whisky for a relaxing evening, but not the right one if you want to explore. Bit too expensive, but hey, that's Macallan in a nutshell.
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Just tasted this myself - I've previously only had the older Fine Oak expressions, but this is actually the best in that range, in my opinion, and a valid stablemate to Amber and Sienna.
I'll add a sherries version to my next tasting batch. although that might be a few months off.
My thoughts as well, their sherried expressions always seem the most satisfying.
I didn’t really care for the couple of fine oak expressions I’ve had. They are not sherried and therefore not the typical Macallan profile, which is their strong point