I know there are scotch fans here and I tried this one recently and was wowed by it. The whiskey is 10 years old (minimum) and 58.1 % abv or just over the old British Sykes 100 proof. Macallan is all-sherry wood and the European (Spanish) oak type is used. Some U.S. wood, ex-bourbon or sherry, is used too by Macallan but in a separate series called Fine Oak. The regular 10 year old cask is a full-on taste of whisky moderated by rich fruity sherry wood. The extra, liqueur quality comes from that and the concentration of the high proof - all is in perfect balance even at a daunting 58% abv. If there is one thing I'd change it would be to use a higher-peated malt, in fact this whiskey tastes like it is unpeated. The Macallan before the 1960's was peated and the abandonment of peat by the house (whichreleases some peated whiskey but again in separate line) is to be regretted. Like the charred flavors in a well-aged bourbon smokiness can add complexity. But the whisky is good as it is, a rich silky depth charge of a dram. I don't know what bourbon I'd equate it to, maybe one of the Staggs. Not Blanton, it is too light (relatively speaking). If Elmer T. Lee came in a barrel strength that would get us closer. I plan to add a dash of Lagavulin to three fingers of The Macallan Cask Strength to approximate what the single whiskey was like before the Second World War but it is again very good and in relative terms is not a bad buy.
Gary