Review #6: Oban The Distillers Edition

Distillery: Oban

Region: Highland

ABV: 43%

Age: 14, Distilled in 2003

Price: $100

Color: 1.5 Auburn, Polished Mahagony

Nose (according to the wife): Lots of fruit and fragrance with a bit of smoke right at the end. She said it reminded her of Chinese quince and of floral tea. This is her absolute favorite nose so far! While you get a warming effect, the alcohol “burn” smell is barely there so the result is a very soothing and smooth scent.

Palate: The nose suggests this will be a sweet one and it definitely is. You get a huge blast of the sherry mixed in with some fresh fruit (I couldn’t quite place what it was so I’m going to go with quince as well) followed by a bit of floral tea (reminds me of rose tea) that is very pleasant. Not a lot of smoke in the palate though.

Finish: The finish is interesting for me. You get some of the peat/smoke in the finish along with the other notes from the dram. But other than that, the finish is one I’d expect from a dry wine rather than any kind of whisky–short and well, dry. Part of me really likes it because it’s a bit of a surprise, part of me wishes it would have a nice long finish.

Conclusion: Flavor profile for this one is very pleasant and enjoyable, I’m impressed by how complex it is as well. It is on the sweet side, if you’re not a fan of that I’d avoid this one. However, if you like sherried whisky’s, this should be right up your alley. I’m still not sure where I stand on the finish as it is different than anything else I had. Perhaps one to revisit for another review in the future.

Final Score: 80

Scotch whisky review #6, Highland review #1, Whisky Network Review #7

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.

Originally reviewed Mar. 05, 2018.