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Scotch Whisky Review: Mac-Talla Virgin Oak

Designed to have a richer and sweeter profile than their traditional release. This Mac-Talla Virgin Oak bottling has used level 4 charred virgin oak from Kentucky.

OVERALL RATING

6
$92
  • Phil Dwyer is a freelance whisky writer and consultant with over a decade of experience in whisky retail and online whisky education. Best known for hosting Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, he is dedicated to making whisky accessible and enjoyable by cutting through jargon and complexity.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Designed to have a richer and sweeter profile than their traditional release. This Mac-Talla Virgin Oak bottling has used level 4 charred virgin oak from Kentucky to provide the liquid with a more toffee and caramel driven flavour, whilst also balancing out the peat in the whisky.
Appearance:
Cognac
Nose:
A combination of earthy, vegetal new-make spirit and some softer sweet notes of toffee, caramel and baking spices like cinnamon.

After some time in the glass you get ginger in a few different forms – candied, ginger beer and ginger nut biscuits. The smokiness has been quite subdued by the cask intensity, but it does appear in the vegetal, rubbery style of smoke. The nose can also take you into this over ripe fruit section of banana and mango.
Palate:
Instant pleasant spiciness and familiar smokiness. This reminds me a lot of Kilchoman on the palate, it’s quite oily, chewy, nice barrel spices, a slight candied bacon thing about it. Those ginger notes make a slight comeback, this time just as ginger beer. There’s also some refreshing lime juice notes hanging around, too. The youthful nature of it still lingers around with little spikes of new-make spirit making themselves known.
Finish:
Rubbery smokiness, drying and quite ashy. Some backdraft of what we smelt on the nose of gentle tropical fruit notes – mango and pineapple, more descending ginger notes and the return of that vegetal note. It’s gently spicy with notes of smarties and chalk love heart sweets – perfect for Valentine’s Day just around the corner.
Comments:
I don’t mind this stuff. The taste is the best thing about it, and arguably the most important part overall. The nose is so spirit driven that you’d be hard pressed to think this stuff was above five years old. I don’t normally have a problem with that, but the dominance of the new-make takes away a lot that could be hiding elsewhere in this whisky.

The taste is delicious but the rest of the product is a bit of a let down. As a lover of virgin oak and peat, I wanted much more to come out of this.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer is a freelance whisky writer and consultant. With a decade of experience in whisky retail and nearly as long running Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, Phil is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow whisky lovers. His goal is to make whisky accessible and enjoyable, dispelling the jargon and complexity that can sometimes surround the spirit. In addition to his online presence, Phil managed The Whisky Shop Manchester, where he curated an impressive selection of some of the finest drams available.

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