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macallan 10yo fine oak

Macallan 10yo Fine Oak

13 January 2016 2 comments Article Macallan, Reviews, Scotland, Speyside

Nowadays Macallan mostly does NAS (in Europe that is), but the 10yo Fine Oak stems from a time when they were still doing many age statement whiskies. It has matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.

You could say that the decline of Macallan started with the introduction of the Fine Oak-range back in 2004. I actually did. They stepped away from their signature sherried style, a style that made them successful in earlier decades. In that respect the Fine Oak-expressions are a big part of whisky history. Some might even say a black page in that history. Ugh, I’m making myself depressed. Let’s get on with the tasting notes.

Macallan 10yo Fine Oak (40%, OB)

Nose: A touch of fruit (peaches) but mostly floral. Also some grassy notes like straw. Hints of malted barley and cane sugar.
Taste: Caramel and toffee, followed by a pinch of black pepper, oak shavings and some red apples. Pleasant, but one-dimensional.
Finish: More toffee, but it ends on an oak-y note. Medium in length.

Rating: 82

A more than decent whisky. Approachable and accessible, although it has easily doubled in price since it was discontinued, which is a shame.

Thijs Klaverstijn Kingairloch 3
Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.

Tags: 10yo, fine oak, macallan, speyside

2 comments

  • Sjoerd de Haan 13 January 2016 at 11:26 - Reply

    That’s a surprisingly high score. I guess Macallan can score pretty decently if you’re not too jaded about the decline in quality.

    However, I remember not really enjoying this one in Oliver Kermit’s blind tasting NAS vs AS thingy

    • Thijs @ Words of Whisky 13 January 2016 at 11:33 - Reply

      Out of the five pairs I tasted in Oliver’s NAS-test, I enjoyed the Macallan-pair the most. By far. The only two I rated above 80.

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