Oban 14 Year Old

My wife just picked me up a 24 bottle whisky sample pack for Christmas. She picked it up from Master of Malt based off my oh so very subtle hints based off an email I sent her asking for it for Christmas.

This was a good thing as up to then neither of us really had an idea on a good gift for me for Christmas.

Even better is that the large majority of whisky samples in the pack were from whiskies/distilleries that I'd never tried before and a couple of the whiskies that I had tasted before I'd never sat down and contemplated them before so even better!

The first sample I tried was a Dalwhinnie 15 yr old and the next one up was a whisky I'd tasted before, but under less then ideal conditions.

Oban 14 yr old.

Now the first time I'd tried this whisky was in an Irish restaurant, after discovering that this was the only whisky they had that I'd never tried before.

Sadly the dram came out in a massive tumbler, from a half full bottle which after trying this sample seems like it was largely oxidized.

So I decided to crack open this sample next in order to give it a try.

Nosing it in it's glencairn the first odors to hit the nose is citrus with honey, then oak develops with peat smoke and always an undertone of salt.

Interesting nose, especially with the salt, but honestly not a nose that makes me eager to take a sip.

However whisky isn't just for nosing, it's also for tasting.

Odd palate. Sweet with salty. Pears, apples, vanilla, honey and through it all is salt.

A drying mouthfeel and finish. Faint fruit and lingering salt ends the whisky.

This for me had the potential to be a really cool whisky, especially with the salt, however sadly the salt dominates every aspect of this whisky.

I'd still call this an entry level single malt, however at $85 or so AUS it's not a whisky that I'd ever pick up in it's current form.

Find where to buy Oban whisky