Finer Oak range gets finer

[ResIpsa539]

I found the 10 year old to be quite flat and underwhelming, but thought the 15 was a tremendously complex dram with a very long finish. I'm not sure there's a bottle I dislike so much at 10 years, but adore at 15.

[mikeymad]

I find the 'Sherry finished' (i.e. Fine Oak) Macallans to be much less enjoyable than the full sherried cousins.

But I think that the only one that I didn't like that much (like many here) is the FO 10yo. The 12 was better, the 15, 17, and 18 were nice. Not quite up to their price points, but nice.

Long live the Sherried Macallans.

Cheers,

[ResIpsa539]

Are the Fine Oaks "finished" in sherry? I thought it was just that they vatted bourbon and sherry casks. I'm not sure of what the practical difference would be, although I'd guess the color of a whisky whose contents were ALL finished in sherry would be darker than a vatting which included bourbon and sherry casks. Perhaps it would affect the taste too...

[mikeymad]

Now that I think about it. The bottle just says:

"Carefully Matured in a unique combination of Bourbon & Sherry Oak Casks"

That could mean finished (aged in Bourbon and finished in Sherry), or it could mean that they dumped Bourbon aged and Sherry aged together.

I don't know.

Cheers,

[Admiral]

The Fine Oak range is a vatting (or combination) of three whiskies (wholly) matured in three different casks:

* Ex-bourbon American oak
* Ex-sherry American oak
* Ex-sherry European oak

Cheers,
ADmiral

[Deactivated Member]

Mr Picky really wishes that whisky enthusiasts would get a grip on the difference between "sherry matured" and "sherry finished". There are things that Mr Picky cares about that some think are unimportant, but this is really basic.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

[quote="MrTattieHeid"]Mr Picky really wishes that whisky enthusiasts would get a grip on the difference between "sherry matured" and "sherry finished". There are things that Mr Picky cares about that some think are unimportant, but this is really basic.[/quote]

here, here ..... it's good to have Mr Picky back

[Single Malt Kommunist]

[quote="MrTattieHeid"]Mr Picky really wishes that whisky enthusiasts would get a grip on the difference between "sherry matured" and "sherry finished". There are things that Mr Picky cares about that some think are unimportant, but this is really basic.[/quote]

Ahh, if wishes were fishes....

[Reggaeblues]

Quite so! It's good to read you Mr. P. We need characters round here who tell it "As we get it" as a Macallan indie bottler used to boast...

I've had a Fine Oak 10 knocking around for a while now. It's OK. the kind of dram I drink when I don't particularly care...i just "fancy a whisky." Not a bad dram, but lacking any distinctiveness or character. It could be one of many.

But the other night I treated myself to a drop from a 200mm bottle I have housing the remnants of a 1986 18 YO "proper" Macallan given to me 2 Christmasses ago.

It knocked my socks off(NOT literally, Mr P, but you know what I'm saying!) and reminded me why I fell in love with Macallan all those years ago, and why, like so many it seems, I am underwhelmed by the "Fine Oak" bottlings I've tried.

Shame the "sherry matured" 18YO is so expensive...

[Single Malt Kommunist]

At what year did Macallan change their quality of casks?

I currently appreciate the 10 yo cask strength, but entered into whiskies only recently, when the market was already flooded with Fine Oak. So its difficult for a newbie to compare with the earlier high quality stuff.

Are there any bottlings (pricing under 60 pounds if possible) still available to get a sample of times past?

[lexvo]

[quote="AlanLaz"]I found the 10 year old to be quite flat and underwhelming, but thought the 15 was a tremendously complex dram with a very long finish. I'm not sure there's a bottle I dislike so much at 10 years, but adore at 15.[/quote]

I had the same expierence with the 12Y FO and the 15Y FO. The 12Y was OK, but I like the 15Y. As for the price, that's a different story.

[Bruichladdict]

I have a great idea...you want them to ditch the FO line? You want better supply of sherry finishes....try this:

1. Go buy one bottle of sherry every two weeks.
2. Drink it or pour it down the drain.
3. Repeat steps 1-3

If everyone did this we would have problem solved...not to mention that the demand on Macallan would diminish slightly, bringing the price down.

A win-win for everyone.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

not quite.

Drinking or draining more sherry is not the answer.

You still have the costly problem of transporting the sherry casks to Scotland.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Bruichladdict]

Shipping is not the problem with casks...remember there doesn't seem to be a cost issue shipping bourbon casks from a much farther off Kentucky!

The accepted wisdom on the sherry cask shortage is simply that the demand for sherry has been shrinking, thus supply and production has been shrinking.

[Mr Fjeld]

This might be a good example of highly unqualified guessing so please correct me if I'm wrong, but buying more sherry in any form wont help Macallen produce more "Sherry Oak" Macallan. Most other distilleries would benefit though but Macallan uses Spanish Oak of which there is not a great deal left due to deforestation after building an unlucky armada, shipbuilding for the slave trade and bad irrigation. The rest of the distilleries buy casks from bodegas which mainly use american oak and a small amount of oak sourced from other parts of Europe. I think it's increasing demand for Macallan rather than less consumption of sherry which is responsible for scarcity of Sherry Oak Macallan in many markets!

......sorry, I have cask and oak on the brain....

We should definately have a dedicated "Macallan Thread" in this forum

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

you are right Mr Fjeld. One reason is the risen demand for Macallan which is of course pushed by Edrington for what it`s worth and the other reason ist the availability of quality sherry casks.

In this respect I would say that there is not so big a difference between the European oak sherry cask and the American oak sherery cask.

The cost ratio of bourbon to sherry is what, 1 to ten or twelve?

Does it make a difference that the American oak sherry cask held bourbon before? Well I would say that the sherry will have taken care of that and re-charring did probably the rest.

But it is true, cheap bourbon casks conquer the world at the moment.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Mr Fjeld]

I think most other "european casks" used in sherry production are from Slovenia. They are very popular with european wine makers (Italy especially) as they relatively cheap and of good quality. I have to say that a few so called "sherry bombs" I've had have tasted not only sherry as you would expect but they have also been very "bourbony" (small batch bourbon) although they haven't been used for this purpose. It's only a case of american oak speaking. Spanish wine makers use mainly american oak for their barrels because it's cheap and this has been done for many decades. Over-oaked Rioja wines drenched in vanillin would be the extreme example.

[Elagabalus]

I didnt like the 10 year old fine oak so I am not going to bother with any further fine oak offerings. I would rather just have an A'Bunadh.

Viva Christus!

[Deactivated Member]

hehe ,come to look at it.

[ResIpsa539]

[quote="Elagabalus"]I didnt like the 10 year old fine oak so I am not going to bother with any further fine oak offerings. I would rather just have an A'Bunadh.

Viva Christus![/quote]

Give the 15 a try; it's so very different than the 10. I found the 10 to be flat and underwhelming - the 15 is quite complex. I'd agree with you on the A'Bunadh front, but that's a completely different monster.

[UUNetBill]

I also kind of liked the 15, but I still prefer the sherry oak range, age for age and dollar for dollar. The price of the FO 15 kept creeping up, but it still tastes the same. As much as I love the Macallan, there are other malts out there I'd rather buy.