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Released as part of Macallan’s ever-wonderful Sherry Oak range comes this 12 Year Old. It has spent its entire maturation in sherry-seasoned oak casks from Jerez, and is bottled at 40% ABV after its 12 years of ageing. It’s full of all those hallmark dried fruit and marmalade notes we’ve come to know and love from a sherried Macallan.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose
Crisp and sweet. There are notes of sultanas and fresh apple blossom. There is a defined floral note followed by Sherry hints. Calvados emerges with a tropical fruit note and golden syrup.
Palate
Medium-body and quite firm. There are notes of hot pastries and marmalade, sultanas and peels with a developing sweetness from the barley sugar.
Finish
Good length with a solid oaked note
Allergy Information
This product does not contain any notifiable allergens
I'm reviewing the U.S. 43% imported version. From the moment you handle the substantially weighted bottle, remove the quality capsule, extract the well fitting cork and inhale, you are aware of something special. It follows through to the long thick legs sliding down the sides of the glass. Rich, aromatic, unctuous spirit follows that does not disappoint. I suspect this is where the value point is. Slides down like sweet oil! Cost AU$200 but well worth it.
EDGAR Jun 23, 2020
its hard to beat it really
one of the great 12 yr olds this... dried fruit, a little spice, sherry everywhere, yet so well balanced and considering the amount of sherry, so smooth as well.
Macallan have always been famed for their wood(sherry prominent) THIS IS WHY
worth more than 5 really, even if its not cheap.... as a sherry forward dram, its hard to beat it really..
struth
GRANT BROWN Jun 18, 2020
Not a quality replacement for what used to be sold as just Macallan 12.
I used to love the standard Macallan 12, when it had no branding on the oak or the sherry or the number of barrels. Always kept a bottle on the shelf, and occasionally treated myself to the similarly branded Macallan 18. But ever since they started on this path of Fine Oak, Sherry Oak, Double Barrel, etc, I've been trying to find the equivalent of the wonderful old Macallan 12. Unfortunately this is certainly not it, not even close. It lacks the depth, richness, balance and complexity of the old 12 year. To me it tastes like they literally dumped some sherry into a young spirit and bottled it. I was a long time Mac devotee, but their expansion into their monstrous industrial scale distillery, and all this re-branding has diminished their product significantly. I can't help but think old Michael Jackson would be very disappointed in what they've become.
David McEvoy Jun 17, 2020
Wow! Sugar rush!
Well, this is my first taste of a Macallan. I have a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask that I've not yet opened (as it was bought for my birthday) and bought this as a kind of test to see what delights I'm in for. My palate and smell isn't the most honed, and although I have a very sensitive sense of smell, I can rarely pick out the different flavours that get mentioned - I just like what I like. 'Sherry Bomb' is a phrase that's bandied around a lot at the moment if you watch any whisky videos on Youtube, with dried fruits and raisins cropping up a lot with sherry-casked whiskies. Well, with this Macallan even I can smell the fruits, the nose doesn't so much fill the glass as whack you round the face with a bunch of grapes, it's almost too much (but not). the nose is actually more potent than the palate for me and makes for a whiskey that defies it's 12 years of age. Never had anything like it. I tried it alongside a Glenlivet 18 - just for random comparison - and The Glenlivet 18 is quite bland next to the Macallan (For 'bland' read 'more subtle'). I feel I need to drink a lot more to really form a true opinion, but for the moment it's delicious and a world away from my other Speyside whiskies (not better or worse, just different). Is it worth twice the price of many other 12-year-olds? Yes. Yes, it is...if you like this sort of thing. It is VERY sweet on the nose, more like an actual sherry than a whisky. It's still strong on the tongue, but far less sherry and more like you'd expect from a good whisky, and very smooth. Is it worth £70? Depends on your taste I'd say. I think it's too expensive myself and will try the Double Cask next...
Simon Newbury May 28, 2020
It's ok
I have always thought Macallan survives more on it's legend and hype than the true nature of it's product, that's why they can charge the prices they do. That's not to say this isn't a fine scotch (it is) but it's not what i personally want out of a whisky that uses 'sherry cask' as it's selling point, so if it's your thing, enjoy, but it's likely to be a while before i pay this amount for another bottle.
