Review by: The Muskox
Time for another of last year’s Diageo Special Releases. Oban was one of the very first single malts that I really enjoyed, and one of the first bottles I ever bought, but is a whisky that I’ve sort of moved past since then. Despite Oban’s popularity as a single malt, the small size of the distillery and complete lack of indie bottlings means that there really aren’t that many different ways to try it, and fewer still with a craft presentation. I like many other scotch nerds was delighted to hear that a cask-strength Oban was coming as part of the 2021 crop of Special Releases. My last Oban review was #68, all the way back in 2018! My only experiences with Oban since then have been a couple pours of the 14. Let’s see if this release lives up to the hype.
Distillery: Oban.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Fed’s Backyard.
ABV: 56.2%. Cask strength.
Age: 12 years. Bottled in 2021.
Cask type: Charred American Oak, Refill Casks.
Price: $190 CAD.
Color: Pale gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Sweet and rather young on the nose. Very salty, especially after it rested for a while. Tangerine, banana cream pie, and a hint of passionfruit. White chocolate, browned butter, vanilla, milk tea, and a hint of almond. There’s a hint of peppery peat smoke here, more than I remember getting from other Obans. The pepper peat and floral flavours combine into an almost habanero-ish note.
Palate: Medium-light texture, with a fair amount of alcohol heat. Sweet, spirity, and punchy on the arrival with bright yellow plums, orange zest, honey, and salted caramel. Develops to buttered toast, vanilla, and spicy sea-sprayed oak. A bit more of that milk tea. Toasted coconut, guava, and heady tropical flowers going into the finish.
Finish: Medium short. Orange peel, a hint of wax, and more plums and fresh flowers. Candied pineapple. Honey oat bars and buttery shortbread. Slightly grassy. Trails off into soft fragrant peat smoke with a hints of brine and black pepper.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Squall en route to Tahiti”
Conclusion: This bottling is pretty much just what I wanted it to be – quintessential Oban, dialed up to 11. There’s the classic mix of orange, malt, flowers, honey, and a hint of Island-ish salt and smoke, but there’s also tantalizing hints of butter, wax, and tropical fruit that I haven’t gotten from Oban before. It’s not too virgin-oak-y either, which I was a bit concerned about. I was a little disappointed at first that this whisky was coming across a bit too green, especially with that virgin oak maturation… but time and a dribble of water really helped things come together. It’s still a bit green, but I appreciate being able to try this stripped-down presentation without having to travel all the way to the distillery.
Final Score: 85.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 