Oban 14yo (43.0%): Oban 14 is one of the original six "Classic Malts of Scotland" releases Diageo launched in 1988 representing West Highlands region. The distillery is located in the middle of the town of Oban and it's founded in 18th century which makes it one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland. To be honest I loved Oban 14yo the first time I tasted God knows how many years ago and still enjoy it whenever I have the chance to do so. But this time I will take time to sit down a little longer and write down some tasting notes while I sip my whisky.
Color: Light amber with slow but thin legs.
Nose: Dried fruits, honeycomb and touch of floral highland peat. Dried strawberries and dried mango and papaya slices, latex paint and tad of dairy. Very dusty with chalk, hard wood shavings and apple and rhubarb pie aromas. Sage honey, dry hay and varnish... Unmistakeable Oban nose with those dried fruit and chalk aromas you can tell from a mile away.
Palate: Thick, jammy and sweet... Subtle floral peat, marine engine oil and candied orange peel. Four berry jam, yellow Chartreuse and Golden Delicious apples.
Finish: Way longer I would expect from its abv... Dried grass clippings, tri-color peppercorns and brown sugar.
Overall: There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this whisky... From nose to finish there are no off-notes to mention. It just noses and tastes good and is a solid bottle with a very fair price tag attached to its neck. I am actually glad that the distillery is completely locked surrounded by other buildings in Oban and because of that the production is extremely limited to less than 900,000 liters per year without any hope to expand. That means Diageo will never have enough barrels sitting in their warehouses allowing them to experiment with various NAS releases or with fancy cask finishing projects. Although they try from time to time with limited releases I believe that they will keep the core line-up as it is for quite a long time.
Overall: There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this whisky... From nose to finish there are no off-notes to mention. It just noses and tastes good and is a solid bottle with a very fair price tag attached to its neck. I am actually glad that the distillery is completely locked surrounded by other buildings in Oban and because of that the production is extremely limited to less than 900,000 liters per year without any hope to expand. That means Diageo will never have enough barrels sitting in their warehouses allowing them to experiment with various NAS releases or with fancy cask finishing projects. Although they try from time to time with limited releases I believe that they will keep the core line-up as it is for quite a long time.
Price: $60
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