Whisky Connosr
Menu
Shop Join

Macallan 10 Year Old Sherry Oak

Beautiful dram for a beautiful girl

0 1490

@jdcookReview by @jdcook

24th Aug 2010

0

Macallan 10 Year Old Sherry Oak
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    21
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    90

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

My wife and I have been parents of our little girl Zoe for a grand total of 6 days now, and I've been trying to decide on a dram to toast her birth. So when I got a newsletter from my usual retailer, and I saw the Macallan 10 year old sherry oak was on sale (it's pretty rare here in Australia), I jumped at the chance to get an early fathers day gift! In the same order I also purchased a local dram, the Hellyers Road Distillery Slightly Peated and a Glengoyne 10 year old. Initially my wife said I wasn't allowed to have any until fathers day, but she relented and has allowed me to start tasting them early, which gave a chance to toast little Zoe!

On to the dram itself, the nose is a deep mix - full of sherry, cinnamon, toffee, dried apples and just a hint of smoke. Bewitching, with every sniff emphasising a slightly a different aspect. The sherry smoke alone could keep me tantalised for hours!

The taste is big, warm and rich.The same mix of sherry, cinnamon, toffee and smoke is there, but there is an added nutty creaminess to it. It's a very smooth warm wave that wafts nicely into the finish.

Speaking of which, the finish hits with a wave of sherry smoke and toffee, that quickly starts to get a spicy cinnamon tingle. As it slowly fades over several minutes the dried fruit makes a reappearance. Very, very nice.

This is a genuinely excellent dram, and ranks with the very best 10 year olds from any distillery out there. It's also excellent value for money. Plus for me it will always be associated with the birth of our little girl, so while it rates a definite 9, in my heart it feels more like a 9.5...

Related Macallan reviews

14 comments

@OJK
OJK commented

For me, this is one of the great whiskies, so a very apt dram to toast such a fantastic occasion. Congrats!!

13 years ago 0

@lucadanna1985
lucadanna1985 commented

Congratulations for the little girl! :) (we are already used to your nice reviews!)

13 years ago 0

@Pierre
Pierre commented

Congratulations JD! Great news and nice review too.

13 years ago 0

@jdcook
jdcook commented

Cheers all! This one really hit the spot on a very special occasion.

13 years ago 0

@jeanluc
jeanluc commented

@jdcook That's very happy news, congratulations to you and your wife. I'll raise a glass on this side of the world :)

13 years ago 0

@RoganFox
RoganFox commented

Congrats... and nice review. Fathers Day(early or not) is the most appropriate of days to receive a bottle of your choice and you now have many to look forward to.

13 years ago 0

@jdcook
jdcook commented

Thank you all!

13 years ago 0

@AboutChoice
AboutChoice commented

@jccook, a big congratulations to you! I love the Mac Sherry Oak 12, but wasn't sure about the Mac 10. But now I'll try to find a bottle. Another informative, good-reading review. Thanks.

13 years ago 0

@markjedi1
markjedi1 commented

@jdcook, what wonderful news that is. And Zoe is a beautiful name. Congrats, mate (raises glass, winks and sips to JD's family). Tip for JD: kids are wonderful. For one thing (I've got three children), you can ask them each to buy you a bottle of Scotch for Father's Day LOL

13 years ago 0

@jdcook
jdcook commented

@markjedi I got three drams for fathers day this year! So I think I've got a fair case for getting three per child in the future!

My wife just looked over my shoulder and started chuckling and shaking her head. I don't understand why. This is terribly serious... ;)

13 years ago 0

@jwise
jwise commented

I haven't had any of the 10yr expressions from Macallan. I finished off a bottle of the 12yr sherry finish last year over the holidays, giving away much of it. Frankly, I wasn't terribly impressed with it, enjoying the Aberlour 12yr much more. I found the 12yr to be TOO smooth, and very boring. If you have had both, I'd love to hear your comparison notes on the two.

A very belated CONGRATS on the birth of your daughter!

13 years ago 0

@jdcook
jdcook commented

@jwise - I only have the Aberlour 10 year old, and this is significantly better than that (although the Aberlour 10 year old is still quite a nice dram).

...and thanks on the belated congrats, she is growing into a very cute young girl, nearly 5 months old now! :)

13 years ago 0

@Wills
Wills commented

Really good review. You will be connected to that whisky forever. I also think Zoe is a very nice name and as I see, she had her first birthday party already! Ordered my first Macallan 10yo yesterday and I am so much looking forward to open the bottle :)

12 years ago 0

@jdcook
jdcook commented

@Wills - I've gone back to it a few times since (most notably on her first birthday), and it is indeed a very nice drop. Fairly gentle though, so I'd recommend a drink of water before-hand.

12 years ago 0

You must be signed-in to comment here

Sign in