Oban 14 Year Old

Available in a lot of pubs in the UK as a member of Diageo's 'Classic Malts' range I thought I would try a bottle of Oban. With only two small stills, traditional worm tubs and very little room to expand due to its position in the centre of town production is quite limited despite its apparent popularity, leading to q fairly high price in the UK for a standard bottling.

Nose - Leather and salt at first, with a hint of peat but becomes fruity in time. Cooked fruits, plum jam, later some raisins and lots of fresh ginger and ginger spice, with malty Ovaltine, hints of vanilla essence and dried figs.

Palate - Soft mid-palate arrival, quite sweet at first with plums, baked apples, developing into dried figs, malt, some orange marmalade, brown sugar and bitter toffee, then lots of gingerbread and sweet ginger preserve, cinnamon sugar, and stewed tea, with touches of peat and salt.

Finish - Fairly dry, gingerbread spice leaves a tingle on the tongue along with some dry vanilla, cinnamon with savoury salted cashew nuts and mildly bitter oak and black tea, leaving a medium to long savoury-bitter finish.

A gentle dram, doesn’t pack a huge punch with the flavour but is pleasant, interesting and complex in time with a good finish. I would certainly recommend it, and I would buy another bottle, but there are other malts I would go for beforehand.

Find where to buy Oban whisky