Macallan 18 Year Old Fine Oak

It just occurred to me that I’ve yet to post any of my Macallan single malt reviews – so in honour of Robbie Burns day (January 25), let me rectify that with the Macallan Fine Oak 18 Year Old.
After Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is probably the next best-known Scottish single malt whisky distillery. Located in Craigellachie, this Highland whisky maker is currently owned by Edrington Group. It is a high-volume producer, turning out over 700,000 cases a year, according to sources on Wikipedia. But many of its expressions are very highly regarded by whisky enthusiasts, and it thus occupies something of a prestige niche. But with that cachet also comes higher prices, forcing many enthusiasts to look at lower-priced equivalent products elsewhere. In more recent years, this includes newer entry-level products from Macallan themselves (including various no-age-statement bottlings).
In style, Macallan has long been associated heavy European oak sherry cask aging (originally brought to the distillery from Jerez, Spain). But starting early this millenium, Macallan introduced this Fine Oak series, where the whisky has been aged in both ex-bourbon casks as well as sherry ones (both American oak, I believe). Macallan points to the American casks as introducing dryer and more oaky elements into the finished product.
Bottled at a range of ages, this 18 year old edition would typically sell for ~$300 CAD (if you could find it – not currently available locally in Ontario). I sampled it last year at the Brevings whisky bar and restaurant in Riga, Latvia. Bottled at 43% ABV.
Here is how it compares to other Macallan whiskies of similar style or price in my Meta-Critic Whisky Database:
Macallan 1824 Amber: 8.30 ± 0.36 on 13 reviews ($$$)
Macallan 1824 Gold: 8.24 ± 0.28 on 16 reviews ($$$)
Macallan 1824 Rare Cask: 8.70 ± 0.40 on 10 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan 1824 Ruby: 8.76 ± 0.21 on 13 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan 1824 Sienna: 8.70 ± 0.33 on 18 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan 10yo Fine Oak: 8.26 ± 0.30 on 19 reviews ($$$)
Macallan 12yo Fine Oak: 8.45 ± 0.40 on 15 reviews ($$$$)
Macallan 15yo Fine Oak: 8.45 ± 0.51 on 12 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan 17yo Fine Oak: 8.78 ± 0.50 on 11 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan 18yo Fine Oak: 8.72 ± 0.26 on 7 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan 18yo Sherry Oak: 8.89 ± 0.32 on 18 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan 21yo Fine Oak: 8.51 ± 0.40 on 6 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan 25yo Fine Oak: 8.63 ± 0.25 on 3 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan 30yo Fine Oak: 8.56 ± 0.36 on 6 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan Edition No. 1: 8.82 ± 0.51 on 8 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan Edition No. 2: 8.87 ± 0.20 on 12 reviews ($$$$$)
Macallan Select Oak: 8.28 ± 0.37 on 10 reviews ($$$)
Macallan Whisky Maker’s Edition: 8.53 ± 0.36 on 13 reviews ($$$$)
Let’s see what I find in the glass:
Nose: Sweet and honeyed, with moderately complex sugars. Dark-skinned and red fruits – plums and raspberry come to mind especially. Very bright tasting – not heavy on the sherry notes (i.e., no figs or jammy notes). Coconut. Lemon citrus. A bit earthy, with some anise and cocoa. No real off notes, besides a bit of raw ethanol. Wasn’t sure what to expect exactly, but this is quite nice.
Palate: Very balanced fruit with caramel and golden sugar joining the honey. More orange rind now, rather than lemon. Vanilla and nutmeg. Milk chocolate. Ginger and some pepper. A bit of raw ethanol sting, but otherwise a somewhat buttery texture. Some tartness comes in after the swallow.
Finish: Medium length. Golden brown sugar lasts the longest, along with a toffee stickiness. A fair amount of astringency too, likely from the oak. A bit bitter. To be honest, I kind of hoped for more here.
This is definitely a quality dram. The ex-bourbon and sherry oak characteristics seem well integrated, giving this malt a refined presentation. The nose in particular is lovely and complex. Unfortunately, I find the finish somewhat lacklustre for the age (and price), holding it back from a truly top score. As such, I would say the Meta-Critic average score is fair.
Among reviewers, Jim Murray is a fan of this series (and this bottling in particular). On Reddit, Unclimbability is very positive, and shane_il and cake_my_day both score it consistent with the Meta-Critic average. Serge of Whisky Fun gives it one of the lowest scores out there.