Question about Macallan 10/12yrs (not Fine Oak)

[blacksabb]

Hi everyone. I was at a Vintage Celllar's store recently and was absolutely blown away to see a Macallan 10yrs original, not the Fine Oak series. I was glancing at all the whiskies and casually noticed the familiar grey box of the Macallan Fine Oak 10yrs. And then my eye struck another Macallan box that was a really vibrant red. I thought "what on earth is this?" as I eagerly picked up the box for a closer look.

And it was a Macallan 10yrs. And I thought to myself "could this possibly be the original Macallan?" and then as I read the contents of the box, I saw:

"Matured exclusively in sherry casks".

I was flabbergasted, as it's very difficult to find the original Macallan bottles. I checked out a suggested liquor outlet (Ist Choice) that advertised as having the original Macallan, but they in fact didn't. And there is one online site in my own country that advertises the original Macallan but I personally doubt it. I just think they haven't updated their website catalogue to indicate "Fine Oak".

Now, I know that it's the Macallan 12yrs, not the 10yrs, that has the legendary reputation. I asked the guy at Vintage Cellars can he get the Macallan 12yrs in? And he indicated that on their computer system, that they can't distinguish whether the 10 or 12 yrs is the original Macallan or the Fine Oak series. I put an order in for the Macallan 12yrs, at no obligation to me. And when it comes in, the guy is going to call me and only then will he be able to tell me if it's the Fine Oak series or the original.

So my question is this: assuming that I can't get the Macallan 12yrs original, is there much of a difference between the original Macallan 10yrs and original 12yrs? Would you recommend that I buy the original 10yrs if I can't get the original 12yrs?

It's just that I've read so much about the original Macallan 12yrs that I've wanted to try it at least once. My logic is that the original 10yrs would be at least very similar to the original 12yrs. But I don't know if that is off the mark or not.

[blacksabb]

I'm a little surprised that I got no responses to this. All I wanted to know is how much of a difference is there between the (original sherry matured) Macallan 10 and 12yrs?

[dramtastic]

Firstly I have no trouble getting the Sherry mac 12 from 1st Choice so they are either clueless(most likely) or they don't have it in that store or area. No reason they couldn't order it in but I've found they don't know much about whisky's.

Secondly I'm not sure why you think it's legendary. I'm sure there are people on this site who love it and others like me who don't rate it at all. I mean check out how many times it gets mentioned when novices ask for recommedations, not very often.

All you can do is try it and find out for yourself.

As for Mac 10 haven't tried it.

Anyway you've now gotten a reply now, hope that helps as you sounded a little desperate.

[blacksabb]

Firstly I have no trouble getting the Sherry mac 12 from 1st Choice so they are either clueless(most likely) or they don't have it in that store or area. No reason they couldn't order it in but I've found they don't know much about whisky's.

Secondly I'm not sure why you think it's legendary. I'm sure there are people on this site who love it and others like me who don't rate it at all. I mean check out how many times it gets mentioned when novices ask for recommedations, not very often.

All you can do is try it and find out for yourself.

As for Mac 10 haven't tried it.

Anyway you've now gotten a reply now, hope that helps as you sounded a little desperate.

Hahaha, yeah I was "desperate". I needed a good stiff drink to calm me down. I don't know if "legendary" is correct or not. I've certainly read many good things about it. I know Nick doesn't care for it, and obviously you.

And yes, trying is the only way. I just thought that I could pick up the 10yrs as a reasonable similar expression to the 12yrs.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

is the whole box red or is ther only a red lining?

Is it a 1 litre bottle?

Is it cask strength?


If you say yes to all three questions than you have a duty free or travel retail bottling in hand.

That one is very different from all the Macallans you asked to know the difference about.

It is one of the best Macallan offerings from the owner if you like sherried malts.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Ganga]

Yes there is quite a difference between the Macallan 10 and Macallan 12 fully matured in sherry. Macallan 10 is not readily available in the US. I had it when I went to the UK. The Macallan 10 I had was at 40% while the Macallan 12s I've had over the years have been at 43%.

A week ago three of us tried three different bottlings of the Macallan 12. One current release, one from approximately 2000 and one from approximately 1995. All three of these bottlings were quite different. Newer version was sweeter with a lighter profile. 2000 bottling was very fat, loads of caramel and nuts and just a little bit of rubber. The 1995 bottling was similar to the 2000 bottling but had a dry finish.

I would suggest being aware that the denizens lean more towards Islay and will recommend Ardbeg 10 at the drop of a hat (even when someone is looking for a Speyside whisky).

Legendary may not be appropriate to the Macallan 12. However, there are some legendary bottlings from this distillery. Some of the Macallan 18 vintage bottlings are outstanding. My recommendations on this would be bottlings from the 1970s.