Oban 14 Review

Hi everyone,

I've got another big Diageo classic today: Oban.

Because Diageo like to keep Oban whiskies locked up in their Johnnie Walker, they don't release much of it apart from the 14yo. Shame, because I bet it's epic at cask strength.

Wish their was an annual 12yo cask strength of this, Dalwhinnie, Cragganmore and Talisker. Rather than just Lagavulin.

 

Like Dalwhinnie and the other classic malts, Oban uses worm tub condensers to give it more of an oily and meaty character.

Oban 14 43%

Colour: Diageo Gold^TM

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Intense fruit- Apple, pear, some lemon, oak with a little smoke and soot in the background. Fresh pipe tobacco and leather, spice with a little salt and pepper, a little artificial toffee and caramel (Maybe the colouring talking?)

Taste: Rich fruit- Apple and lemon. Woody development with lots of oak and spice. More than a touch of earthy bitter soot but surprise pockets of fruit and citrus. Good balance.

Finish: Medium length. Spicy oak and soot fades with faint fruitiness.

Smokier than I remembered. Good balance and complexity.

73/100

First time I tried this I thought it deserved the same mark as Dalwhinnie 15 but now I think it's up there with the less good batches of Lagavulin 16.

Thanks for reading!

Review #334

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, I have never accepted free samples from anyone in the whisky industry, but have bought bottles or samples with my money, bringing a different set of biases. Also, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.