A bustling seaside resort has grown up around the distillery in the two centuries since it was first built in the fishing town of Oban. The West Highland malt is still produced in the same unhurried, traditional fashion and this 14 year old is a classic whisky from the distillery.
Smoky, maritime nose with hints of sticking plasters and toffee brittle.
Smoky, creamy palate with notes of marmalade, toffee apples and pear cider. A development of cloves comes late palate.
A long, malty finish with toasty oak and spice.
A true classic, Oban's 14 year old is a great coastal dram for lovers of lightly smoked, fresh malts.
.. the aftertouch is definatelly woody with a slight hint of peat
I'm writing this as i am zipping my oban 14 yrs. It's a balanced whiskey with smoothhness, sweet fruity body and a light peaty aftertouch. I would recommend this to newcomers or blend drinkers.
This was ok. I tried this at Bar a bar in L.A. called Seven Grand. Nothing really unique
You won't buy any NAS whisky?!?! That's incredibly short-sighted. Some fantastic whiskies carry no age statements. Look at the Ardbegs for example, Glengoyne Cask Stregth, Glendronach Cask Strength, Glenfarclas 105....the list goes on. I can understand where you are coming from and your feeling cheated by the trend from some of the larger distilleries, COUGH Macallan Cough, to steer away from age statements in an effort to stretch out stock. However, Sometimes an age statement is omitted because there are occasions when casks will be at their optimum for a particular expression before a certain time period is up, for many reasons, and so I can understand some distilleries omitting them for some expressions. I am not sure that this is the case with Oban however. Each to their own and all, and of course whisky taste is a very personal thing BUT.... Laphroaig 10 is chill filtered and bottled at 40%. Quarter Cask is non-chill filtered and bottled at 48%. I think you're foolish to say you'd buy the 10 which is an alright to good whisky but not the QC which is a great full-flavoured whisky, just because it does't carry an age statement. If it bothers you that much I'l tell you now it's about 5 or 6 years old.
A few months ago I bought a bottle of Oban 14 in France, where the prices for scotch whisky are around half what I pay in Ontario. When I got home and tried it, I found it harsh and disappointing and not at all like I remembered Oban to be like. Reading the label carefully, I noticed there is no age listed. It's called Oban 14, but never once is it described as "14 years old". There's no distilling or bottling date. It makes me wonder if this "Oban 14" is much younger than 14 years old. Scotch is very popular, and many of the producers are blending their old whisky with younger stuff to stretch out their stock. Of course that can only go on so long if you sell more than you produce. I will no longer buy any whisky that doesn't have an age specified on the label. Similarly, I don't buy Laphroaig Quarter Cask, I only buy the 10 or 18 year old.
