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.
Was: £192.90Now: £191.90
Normally I like very smokey single malts, but sometimes I feel to have something in between. Then Oben 14 is the best. It's smokey, sweet and fruitty. Very well balanced.
I put this above many more expensive single malts. I've been drinking OBAN for over 20 years. I went to a good friend's 50th birthday. He is a scotch drinker, usually JB. I gifted him a bottle of OBAN. Two weeks later I saw him again. The first thing he said to me was "Damn you anyway!". I said "What did I do?" He said "You got me hooked on $80.00 a bottle Scotch!"
I must admit, that I don't actually like it very much. My rating is more of a nod of the head for the quality and execution. I've visited the distillery and had a dram straight from the cask from a 12 year old Oban and it was nice, so I bought a little bottle, much to the consternation of the missus.... If you ever hear someone talk with reverence from Scottish Single Malts and recite the usual clichés about complexity, delicacy, depth and breadth of flavours you might get the idea to give it a try. For a perfect example, look no further. I bought a 20 cl bottle, and while at the end it has gone slightly flat and dull I must admit I am blown away by this whisky. I simply cannot begin to describe the extraordinary depth that is in this liquid. As it is known, Oban has very long distillation - close to 120 hours, which gives it an estery quality and a special scent and flavour sometimes reminiscent of fruit peels. They also treat their spirit very delicately, they don't use first fill casks, so as not to overpower the original taste. Casks should only make a contribution, not dominate. The malt they use is peated to 1 PPM, which is very very light, but it's still there. Also becasue of the maturation and/or because the distillation takes place on the coast, there is some sea salt detectable in the whisky. All in all if you drink this whisky several times you will find the results of all the above influences and more. I remember, when I opened the bottle I found the whisky too peaty, somehow just being off for my nose. Then as it decanted and mellowed I could find the orange peels and the peat was a bit more manageable. Then I tasted it and I felt the bourbon cask at the start, but then it turned salty and then with every sip the salt aftertaste was stronger and stronger, until eventually it felt like when as a child an ocean wave hit me in the face and the salty water went up my nose. The sensation reminded me of that exact experience. I actually thought I made a mistake buying it in the first place. Next time I drank it, the peat was very subdued and so was the salt and there were absolute bags of fruits and strong, pleasant oaky aromas. The third time it was bourbon like, a bit sweeter, fierier than I remembered. And every other time I found a different whisky than on the occasion before. To sum up then, this is an extraordinary whisky. To me it's like a chameleon. Every single time you try it, you will be overwhelmed by some other detail that you missed the last time around. You could drink a glass every day for the rest of your life and never ever tire of it. If there ever was a drink to have around a log fire to quietly reflect, ponder and contemplate, this one is it! I tried countless malts ranging from 25£ to 180£ a bottle and mark my words, this is hugely underpriced!
This whisky hits every mark with excellence. A sweet nose where even the berries come through to a novice. The flavor is full and rich beyond its 14 years. The finish is clean with a hint of peat uncommon to the other Highlands. The honey comes through in every note. In my opinion it is the ultimate whisky under 25 years, pairing just as nicely with a Cohiba Maduro as it does with a prime cut of ribeye. I find similarities with the McCallan 15 Fine Oak Triple Cask.
A far better whisky than most of the current reviews suggest. The initial sweet hit on the nose and the start makes you think that you are in for something from the Spey. However, there is enough smoke and peaty richness on the palate to kick you in a very different direction rather quickly after that. The finish is also much more from the islands than the mainland. A very pleasant and complex drop.
