Macallan 10 Year Old Sherry Oak

Aged in 100% Jerez Sherry casks, Macallan is the original sherry bomb malt whisky. Does it really stand up to scrutiny these days, and is this standard of aging necessary or even desirable given the chance of some sulphurous contamination.

A rich spicy aroma with an alcoholic solvent like whiff. Cloves and cinnamon provide the spice, and bitter sherry the rest of the experience, not exactly complex but a pleasant introduction despite the solvent. The sherry influence is all over this malt once you taste it, bitter sweet sherry dominates with the undercard filled with butter scotch, cloves and some plumy fruit. The finish is dryer with the cloves and bitter sherry notes coming to the fore.

Nice enough as a young sherry bomb, but I’ve certainly had better bottles of Macallan than this. In the past it’s had distinct flavours of butter and blackcurrant, and when present they can propel this malt into a different class.

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