AVB
Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2003
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Oban 14 yo Western Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, 750 ml, 86 proof, standard bottle, tube packaging, about $50-60, available nationwide.
Oban is advertised as one of the "Classic Malts of Scotland" of which there claim to be six: Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Cragganmore, Talisker, Oban and Dalwhinnie. This marketing plan launched in 1988 has worked well with the renewed interest in single malts and can be directly tied to the shortages of Lagavulin, Oban and Glenkinchie in the last few years.
I was asked rather nicely by two people recently and a few others in the past to review Oban so I thought today would be as good as any to get it done. There aren't too many normal scotches I have left to review so this will be a nice break from some of the more esoteric ones that will show up.
Oban is a western highland malt of which there are only 4; Ben Nevis, Glengoyne, Glenlochy and Oban with Oban being the best known although you can see the Tobermory distillery on Mull right across the channel. The distillery traces its roots back to 1794, well before the town of Oban itself sprouted up around it. It has been in continuous operation since 1938 except for a period when a new still house had to be built and the War. It is one of the very last distillers that still use worm condensers in it's production with the vast majority of that production going into blends, mostly Bells.
A good basic American dinner of ham, baked potato and green beans called for a nice digestifs to help things along and Oban fits that bill quite well. The color is a good wet straw yellow that only changes in intensity when going from the bottle to the glass. Nosing reveals a light peppery blend with citrus and oak in a well balanced mix. First tasting is just slightly disappointing as it doesn't quite live up to the nose. The taste is sweet, smooth and with more malt then the nose suggests but it is not as full as one would think or like. Oban finishes well with the malt and even a bit of the sea swirling about for a medium long time.
As an after dinner drink this does well. As a dram to go with a cigar it is a bit light. I'm sure that some small change would really make this dram shine but I can't quite say what that should be. Bottling at 90 proof, two more years in the cask or 2 less years like it used to be, or even using a different brand of bourbon casks might do it. In any case this is a solid "B" dram but nothing exceptional......although very few are.
Oban is advertised as one of the "Classic Malts of Scotland" of which there claim to be six: Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Cragganmore, Talisker, Oban and Dalwhinnie. This marketing plan launched in 1988 has worked well with the renewed interest in single malts and can be directly tied to the shortages of Lagavulin, Oban and Glenkinchie in the last few years.
I was asked rather nicely by two people recently and a few others in the past to review Oban so I thought today would be as good as any to get it done. There aren't too many normal scotches I have left to review so this will be a nice break from some of the more esoteric ones that will show up.
Oban is a western highland malt of which there are only 4; Ben Nevis, Glengoyne, Glenlochy and Oban with Oban being the best known although you can see the Tobermory distillery on Mull right across the channel. The distillery traces its roots back to 1794, well before the town of Oban itself sprouted up around it. It has been in continuous operation since 1938 except for a period when a new still house had to be built and the War. It is one of the very last distillers that still use worm condensers in it's production with the vast majority of that production going into blends, mostly Bells.
A good basic American dinner of ham, baked potato and green beans called for a nice digestifs to help things along and Oban fits that bill quite well. The color is a good wet straw yellow that only changes in intensity when going from the bottle to the glass. Nosing reveals a light peppery blend with citrus and oak in a well balanced mix. First tasting is just slightly disappointing as it doesn't quite live up to the nose. The taste is sweet, smooth and with more malt then the nose suggests but it is not as full as one would think or like. Oban finishes well with the malt and even a bit of the sea swirling about for a medium long time.
As an after dinner drink this does well. As a dram to go with a cigar it is a bit light. I'm sure that some small change would really make this dram shine but I can't quite say what that should be. Bottling at 90 proof, two more years in the cask or 2 less years like it used to be, or even using a different brand of bourbon casks might do it. In any case this is a solid "B" dram but nothing exceptional......although very few are.
