Whisky Tasting 12: Macallan 18 Yr Fine Oak Fr Speyside, Scot

The name Macallan is legendary. It is sometimes called the 'Rolls Royce of all whiskies'. Famous for it's sumptious Spanish dry Oloroso sherry cask finish style. The house has perhaps more versions of it's malt than anyone else. Macallan is from the heart of Speyside. It's uncompromising style is being duplicated by others but seldom matches its calibre. The 18 years old Fine Oak is a relatively new offering along with the Elegancia series. Both were introdcued because of a shortage of these rare Spanish Oloroso Oak casks and a hugh demand for it's style. The colour is bronze. On the nose, honey, sherry, malt, buttered pop corn, caramel toffee and buttered nuts all emerge but with a feel of volatile alcohol. The body is medium and soft. Again, honey, sherry and spicy christmas pudding characters came through. Neither too heavy nor too light. However, when compare to the original 18 this is but a shadow of the big brother with lighter colour, a leaner body and overall less complexity. The finish is long with a lingering fruity note. (Score 88-90 points) Tasted by Michael Lam of Beverage Review.

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• Macallan
• whisky
• whiskey
• tasting
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• review
• Michael
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[111ImNumber1]

Hey, what is the difference between the fine oak and sherry oak macallan 18? which one is considered more elegant? I am picking a gift for one who knows scotch whisky well. Thanks.

[michaelyblam]

@111ImNumber1 Thanks for asking this question. A very important question that Macallan doesn't want people to hear I guess. Macallan traditionally mature their whisky from Oloroso sherry casks shipped directly from Jerez, Spain. These sherry casks imparts the mahogony colour and the rich buttery, fruit cake characters of the traditionally Macallan series. There came a time at the turn of the century that there was a shortage of sherry cask thus the easy alternative is to...

[michaelyblam]

@111ImNumber1

[michaelyblam]

@111ImNumber1 Con't: partially use bourbon casks and partially use sherry casks and then market it as fine oak. If you like Macallan (Such as myself) as it is with no compromise then stick to the traditional series. In my opinion, the fine oak is just a shadow of what Macallan malts should be! Sad! The original/traditionally series is richer, rounder and weightier. The sherry marries the malt in perfection unlike many malts from other distilleries. It's a expensive but worth the bucks!

[ArcolaBridge]

Have you ever tried Tomatin Whiskey? It has a petey flavor but is fantastic.

[michaelyblam]

@ArcolaBridge I did! But it was more than 20 years ago when I lived in Glasgow so I cannot remember much about it. There was a pub in Glasgow that had over 1000 malts I think but sadly I was a post grad operated with a tight budget so I didn't get to sample some rarer stuffs because they were pricey! Now I regret it.

[dial187]

Fantastic Review!

[ArcolaBridge]

@michaelyblam Tomatin is very distinctive, it's the highest distillery in the Highlands and any one of there whiskeys is amazing, I never had better.

[ArcolaBridge]

@michaelyblam haha! :)

[michaelyblam]

@ArcolaBridge Love your comment. I can see Caucasians have everything to loose!