Review #9: Oban 14 Year

Distillery: Oban

Region: Highland

ABV: 43%

Age: 14

Price: $60

Color: Color: 1.2 Chestnut, Oloroso Sherry, while not written on the box general consensus is that there is coloring added to this whisky.

Nose (according to the wife): Alochol smell is very strong in this one, it prickles and dries the nose something fierce. Beyond that, there is a lovely fragrance of fresh cut grass/flowers with a bit of peat (she thought it was medicine) at the end.

Palate: This one starts salty, followed by a bit of sweet, and then a bitter note. The first taste you get really reminds me of breathing in salty sea air–definitely overpowering. You get some sweetness in the middle thats hard to place neat. With a bit of water, I get some fresh fruit (green apples or perhaps fig). The ending note is a tad nutty and bitter, though a bit of water washes away the bitterness.

Finish: The finish here is really long. You get some more of those nutty notes with just a tad bit of peat (really does remind me of medicine) at the end. Very pleasant.

Conclusion: This one almost has it all–a complex flavor palate followed by an excellent finish. That slug of salty sea air you get early on though is a little off putting, depending on the sip it can really overpower everything else. Perhaps if it were a little sweeter, it would be a nice balance of the two worlds. If you’ve had this one and didn’t like it, I would recommend trying it with ice/water as it will bring out some great notes. Overall, a very enjoyable whisky but could be overpriced. Most places I’ve seen have this marked around $80, I would not buy it at that price. Costco had it for $60, far more in line with what you’re getting in my opinion.

Final Score: 82

Scotch whisky review #9, Highland review #3, Whisky Network Review #10

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. 11, 2018.