Macallan Fine Oak 10 y.o.

40% abv

Score:  80/100

Yawn.  Underwhelmed.  Where is the Macallan of fame and repute that so made the eyes of Michael Jackson (ahem…not that MJ) light up?  Sadly…not here.

This is not a bad whisky by any stretch of the imagination.  It is simply nothing special, and absolutely does not stand up to the Macallan name.  There is a vaccuum of character.  Nothing really ‘off’ here…just don’t expect to be ‘wowed’.

Very Speyside in character (excepting the lack of a nice deep rich sherry wood which may have ratcheted this up a notch or two), with dusty oak and red fruits leading the barley train.  Found this one to be a little dry and figgy as well.  Also on the nose:  a hint of orange…some honeyed woods…cereal…and in all honesty, rather sharp and thin.  Macallan promises so much more.

This pale young’un carries that thinness over to the palate as well, though arrives with a bit more bite than I would have expected.   Not a lot of subtlety.  Youthful and kicking.  The high notes from the citrus here are pleasant however.  It mellows rapidly in the glass and allows the ‘woody’ profile to bully its way to the forefront.  Indeed this seems quite young.  The finish, mostly oak notes, is relatively short.

Overall it comes across as a little too simple, underdeveloped and underpowered for me, but charm finally comes with the balance after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass.

As I said…not bad.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt