I recently stumbled upon this one for $55. And while I assumed that this would not be a particularly great value, curiosity got the better of me. This one was a core component of the Macallan portfolio until it was recently discontinued, seemingly replaced by the NAS double cask Gold Edition. Let's see if Macallan made a mistake or were right to let this one die off. Nose: Floral, fruity, sweet, and "perfumey." Standard Speyside notes of vanilla, honey, toffee, malt, sugar cookie, banana, and apple. There are also the classic Macallan date, plum, fig notes, evidence of sherry cask aging (no leather notes, surprisingly). Notes of caramel, butterscotch, walnut, hazelnut, and dense oak aromas suggest bourbon barrel presence. Decent. Palate: Sweet, light, floral, fruity. More apple, vanilla, toffee, honey, caramel. Walnut and hazelnut as well. There are now distinct notes of zesty orange, milk chocolate, and truffle. Maybe even a slight pineapple to compliment the orange citrus. Reminiscent of the 15, just not quite as impressive. Nevertheless, it's tasty. Sherry notes are largely the same, plum, fig, raisin, date. But despite the presence of this darker notes, this drinks as a lighter Speyside. The lower percentage of sherry casks used in the Fine Oak line causes this to deviate from traditional Macallan. Finish: Moderate in length. Here, it's completely oak driven. Cinnamon and baking spice. Quality oak. Lighter notes of vanilla and honey persist. It's perfectly pleasant, but lacking. 40% ABV was not the right choice here. 43 likely would've made a considerable improvement to what is an acceptable but unremarkable finish. And here we are. Middle of the road. Nothing really to write home about. I'd never complain about receiving a pour of what I'd consider a decent whisky, but you also won't find me lobbying Macallan/Edrington for the dismissal of this one from the lineup. Everything that this one does, the 15 year does much better. It's deeper, richer, and more refined. The extra 5 years and 3% ABV do wonders for this one. Even though it's almost double the price, it's a much better VFM. This would've been a solid deal at $40 or less, but at $55, I've gotten both 12s for less. And those statements end any discussion on the merit of keeping this one around, at least for me. It's a shame to see an age-stated staple disappear, but I won't cry over spilled Macallan. Not this one at least.