Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year

I recently found this one for $55. While I expected it wouldn't be a great value, curiosity got the better of me. This was a main component of the Macallan lineup 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 remove this from production. Nose: Floral, fruity, sweet, and perfumey. Typical Speyside notes of vanilla, honey, toffee, malt, sugar cookie, banana, and apple. There are also the classic Macallan date, plum, fig notes, suggesting sherry cask aging (surprisingly no leather notes). Hints of caramel, butterscotch, walnut, hazelnut, and rich oak aromas suggest bourbon barrel influence. It's decent. Palate: Sweet, light, floral, fruity. More apple, vanilla, toffee, honey, caramel. Walnut and hazelnut are also present. Now there are distinct notes of zesty orange, milk chocolate, and truffle. Perhaps even a slight pineapple to complement the orange citrus. It's reminiscent of the 15-year-old, just not quite as impressive. Nevertheless, it's tasty. The sherry notes are largely the same, plum, fig, raisin, date. But despite the presence of these darker notes, this drinks like a lighter Speyside. The lower proportion of sherry casks used in the Fine Oak range causes this to differ from traditional Macallan. Finish: Moderately long. It's completely dominated by oak. Cinnamon and baking spice. Quality oak. Lighter notes of vanilla and honey linger. It's perfectly pleasant, but insufficient. 40% ABV was not the right choice here. 43% would likely have made a considerable improvement to what is an acceptable but unremarkable finish. And here we are. Mediocre. Nothing truly remarkable. I would never complain about receiving a sample of what I consider a decent whisky, but you also won't find me urging Macallan/Edrington to remove this one from their offerings. Everything this one accomplishes, the 15-year-old does much better. It's deeper, richer, and more refined. The additional 5 years and 3% ABV work wonders for it. Even though it costs almost double, it offers much better value. This would have been a solid purchase at $40 or less, but at $55, I've acquired both 12-year-olds for less. And those facts conclude any discussion on the merit of keeping this one available, at least for me. It's unfortunate to see an age-stated staple disappear, but I won't lament the loss of this particular Macallan.

Okay, it's acceptable. Actually, it's slightly better than acceptable if you haven't tried other whiskies or don't focus on tasting as a "sport" that we "self-proclaimed connoisseurs" often do. It is bottled at 40% abv, the color is yellow (actually it is jonquiripe corn) (I completely messed up that term lol), and you can see water at its edges, not too much but it's present, detracting from this dram. On the nose it's pleasant, not challenging or complex, with honey, butterscotch, butter, vanilla cream, nutty, and medicinal plants. You need to understand something: I've read that humans perceive a range of aromas and one aroma or "note" can represent 3 or 4 things for different people but is actually a single note; this happens here. For me, the vanilla cream, butterscotch, butter, and honey is the same note that tricks my brain into perceiving 4 different things, but it's actually one note. I think I read this somewhere and now I understand what they (the writer) were talking about. It might sound to you like the nose should be amazing but it's actually just decent. Nice notes, but nothing too breathtaking. On the palate, it's more interesting, starts sweet with honey and caramel notes, then transitions into this FINE WOOD flavor. Actually, the name of this whisky is Fine Oak, and that's precisely how it tastes, like experiencing some new, young, piece of wood; my brain strangely tells me this feels like my new furniture with its fresh colors has become whisky. Excuse my eccentric descriptions, but I believe that's the real purpose of writing these reviews: to convey what this whisky makes me feel or recall. While experiencing the fine wood note, you'll detect the characteristic spiciness from The Macallan. Any Macallan drinker can identify it in a blind tasting because its spicy flavor is very distinctive. The finish is long, and for the first time, I experienced a whisky that made my mouth water. It's better on the palate than on the nose; I believe the weakest aspect is its light body, and it's actually too easy to drink, very smooth, making it not overly appealing. Overall, it's a superior whisky to most 10-year-olds, and the brand name is always elegant, so give it a try.

A peculiar find at a remote liquor store, placed next to Macallan's new entry-level Gold without an age statement. And for $15 less, too! I've never been a big fan of Macallan (it always struck me more as a status symbol than a scotch to be savored), but it felt like fate. The whisky itself is nice, though not groundbreaking. The aroma is honey, melon, lemon, heather/lavender, and vanilla. Faint red fruits and spongecake are also present. The taste is soft upon entry--no bite whatsoever--and delivers plenty of melon (cantaloupe! honeydew!), lemon, honey, and a somewhat undefined floral note. The dry, woody finish is so short you'd miss it, but the overall experience is quite pleasant. I don't regret the purchase, although I'm not particularly sad it's no longer on the shelves either.

Two months have gone by since I first tried this whiskey. Over these two months, I've been honing my tasting abilities (hopefully), and the whiskey has been oxidizing in a bottle that's about 7/8 full. It's time to revisit and see if I detect any changes. Nose: I'm getting fruity, chocolaty sherry, orange zest, and some astringency. Palate: Creamy, smooth, oily, chocolate, sherry, and oak. Finish: It begins agreeably enough but turns somewhat bitter, which is good because it's brief. I certainly liked this more the second time around.

Very thin and very light. The nose has a lot of oak, a little maple, vanilla, banana, and a nice nose-tingling mix of heat and peppery spice. The taste mirrors the nose here, sweet, then peppery and with surprising heat, showing its youth. The finish is the best part, nice, long, and spicy. It's good, just not my preferred style of scotch; it almost feels like an identity crisis rather than complex. Water completely ruins this pour.

Exceeded my expectations given prior feedback. The finish lingers adequately, featuring notes of raspberries and oak. It's more peppery than most from that brand. I don't regret opening this bottle that was stashed away. The palate feels thin and somewhat immature, but it's a decade old, so the profile is as anticipated. Cheers!