Macallan 12 sherry oak cask: review and tasting notes
The Macallan 12 Sherry Oak Cask is a full-bodied, sumptuous single-malt Scotch whisky, a riot of ripe fruit, flowers, and spices raised to maximum power.
In two words, it is a bomb of overripe flavors, due to the long aging in sherry barrels.
But this is not surprising, because this is the Macallan style, a distillery famous for its muscular and oxidized whiskeys, where the fruit does not aim for finesse but for extreme intensity. We are not at the highest levels ever; we are far from the Pindaric peaks of the Macallan 18.
This is the first sherry-centric whiskey in the distillery’s range; it is the entry-level product, but it offers a good intensity.
We had already talked about the Macallan 12 double cask, but in that case, the aging takes place both in barrels used to produce Bourbon whiskey and ex-sherry barrels, and therefore it is less intense and more subtle if desired.
With this Macallan 12 sherry oak cask, we face the first step of the philosophy of this distillery, which has never hidden its ambition to make whiskey with a great structure.
Organoleptic characteristics of a Macallan 12 Sherry Oak Cask
The bouquet is all played on warm fruit, very ripe, with plums, dates, and raisins that gracefully alternate with distinct and well-designed floral tones.
Caramel is present but tempered by citrus notes. Vanilla and sweet spices are very subdued in the background, but the most exciting part is the decadent notes of raspberries in alcohol, nuts, and dried fruit, and the nutty tones that come from the sherry.
Herbaceous with light strokes and light smoky tones, but not peaty.Clean finish. Compared to Macallan 12 double oak, it is fuller, more mature, and fuller.
On the palate, it is velvety, has character, and has an almost tannic background due to dried fruit, but it is greedy, soft, and driven by an herbaceous vein that keeps the whiskey dynamic throughout the sip.
The orange marmalade, caramel, and cooked apples also return to the palate, but they never become heavy or redundant in oxidation and remain clean until a woody finish.
The structure is good; it is medium-bodied, has warmth and alcoholic credibility, but is never rude.
Overall, it is a whiskey that flexes its muscles, challenges you, but does not bite, and despite being full of baroque suggestions, it is a very approachable drink.
Macallan 12 Sherry Oak Cask Price
77-80 euros: an honest price, but not quite in line with other competing whiskeys… But as you know, Macallan is known to have an exorbitant pricing policy. You have to pay for quality. In any case, it is a fair price that reflects the quality of a well-made distillate.