Whisky: Oban 14 Year (1989), Distiller’s Edition 1989

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 43%

Cask: Montilla Fino Sherry Finish

Age: 14 Years (Distilled 1989, Bottled 2003)

Nose: Fruity and herbal, with dried apricots and plums, subtle cassis and grassy sugars, a touch of licorice, and hints of orange, anise, and mint.

Palate: Light-bodied with a mild oiliness, dried fruits and grasses with a touch of leather and salt, apricots and plums with subtle orange and anise, dried grass with mellow earth, old wood with hints of walnut oil.

Finish: Medium to long with dried fruits and hints of nutty wood.

Score: 6-7 (81)

Mental Image: Morning Scones in the Meadow

Narrative & Notes: I need to taste more Oban. The flavors are right up my alley, yet, for some reason, the distillery is never on my radar. Perhaps that is due to the small size of the distillery; it is the second smallest in the Diageo stable, and therefore, its limited malts tend to be a bit of a premium, especially for anything outside of the core product line— Little Bay, 14 Year, and 18 Year.  The distillery has no room to expand, so it is not likely one that will experience a massive expansion, even if there is a clear demand for the malt— despite being so small, the Malt Whisky Yearbook for 2022 noted that it was Diageo’s fifth best selling single malt.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I was not surprised to find out that it was not cask-strength, though the flavors were rich enough, especially on the finish, that I figured there was some chance that this was just an old low-abv cask-strength whisky.  It certainly was old, though more in a vintage sense than a mature one, as it spent more time in glass than it did in the cask. I initially tried this blind, but forgot to lock in any guess before I went to see what this was. While my notes are classic Oban for the most part, I so rarely think about the distillery I would not have guessed this correctly without a few hints.

Overall, delightful with a balanced mix of fruit and grass with more subtle earthy and nutty elements in the background.

Image Credit: Whisky Auctioneer