Oban 14 Year Old
Spicy, Maritime, Costal2022-09-14
As you would expect with an age of almost a quarter of a millenium, the distillery has had several owners and has had to be foreclosed on twice. For a time it even belonged to the Patterson brothers, the perpetrators of the eponymous catastrophic collapse of the whisky industry in the late 1800s.
Smell
The Scotch opens with fruity notes of mango and peach. This is followed by a little spicy notes of tropical wood. A salty aroma and a hint of smoke resonate. Unexpectedly interesting.
Taste
The first sip of this whisky from the western Highlands reminds us of apricot, fruit preserves, rapeseed honey and white chocolate. Really sweet, you could say. The sweetness is then displaced by a salty-mineral and at the same time citrusy-sour blast of flavours. We think of apple cider with lemon curd.
Finish
Dry and salty with light oak notes, the single malt lingers for some time before disappearing without a trace.
Thoughts
Geographically on the edge of the Highlands and a few kilometres away from Islay, the profile of the whisky is also laid out there. Not extremely harmonious, as is usually the case with Highland Whiskys, nor briskly peaty like the Islays, but stylistically exactly in between. A maritime combination of two directions, which creamy-smoothly transitions from a nice sweetness to a pleasant saltiness. We like it!
Rating: 78/100 - Very Good (Marcel: 77 | Sascha: 79)
Value for Money: 3/5 - Acceptable
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