One oak, two oak, three oak – Macallan Triple Oak

The whisky industry seems to be set on darker times with the tide turning towards a period of moderation. The internet was buzzing just a few weeks ago with the news getting out that Ardbeg is scaling down their production days from 7 to 5 days a week, and if I am not mistaken, this followed news about the same regime over at Glenmorangie. Talking to one well-known whisky auction house representative late last year, it was made clear to me that numbers do not lie. Prices are going down. In this light, it will be interesting to see what strategy certain brands will develop. Especially those brands that were more focused on the noise than the quality of their product. The Macallan springs to mind, but also Highland Park, the latter also seemingly bringing the brand back to earth. What does premiumisation bring you, when people are only willing to spend their hard-earned money on honest, transparent products? It will be all that harder to sell a product that has a fancy name about a sun rising or a moon setting, and nothing more than that. Here is me hoping The Macallan will return to a more recognizable core range, that makes sense both in quality and pricing. Let’s taste one of these core range expressions now.

The Macallan Triple Cask Matured – Fine Oak, 12 years old, bottled at 40 % abv

Makeup: This Macallan matured in a mix of sherry seasoned American and European oak, as well as regular bourbon casks.

General impressions: There is also a Double Oak version, let’s see if extra wood also brings more surprise to the table. The nose is very fresh and brings you directly to the rolling hills behind the Easter Elchies Estate. A good dose of barley covered in vanilla tones. Some zest, lemons mostly, but all in all rather satisfying. Taking a sip, the fresh character continues, making this a very pleasant and easy whisky to sip. It is all extremely lightweight, here is where Macallan could have pleased the masses with a little more abv. This whisky at 46 % would be top notch. 

As it stands it comes off a bit watery, making it – again – easy to sip and nice aperitive single malt to take when you come home from work, but not feeling quite ready to go into the kitchen. One has to wonder about the sherried aspect of this Macallan, because I cannot find any reference to those qualities unless it is the hint of spiciness on the finish. But in all honesty, this is just simple, good stuff.

Conclusion: We are not forgetting this is a 12 year old single malt bottled at 40 % abv that is sold in my country for about 90 euro. That is just lunacy. Purely judging the whisky, this is fine, rounded, simple single malt without any off-notes. If we look at neighbouring Glenfiddich for instance, I find their core range (the 12 years old benchmark) always has this hint of cardboard somewhere. Then you are better off with this Macallan expression.

Score: 81 points

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