Review by: Raygun

Omar is the “other” single malt brand, much less known than Kavalan. It’s made by the state-owned Nantou distillery. It used to produce mainly world whisky blends, but with the success of Kavalan they started releasing their own single malt branded as Omar (“amber” in Gaelic). I’ve had bourbon and sherry cask releases, but always been curious about their more unusual casks, lychee liqueur and orange brandy in particular. Got this bottle in Taiwan. Rested for 10 minutes.

---

Distillery: Omar (Nantou)

Bottler: Omar

Region/style: Taiwanese single malt 

ABV: 54%. Maybe cask strength.

Age: NAS

Cask type: Finished in orange brandy casks. 6000 bottles.

Color: 1.2 chestnut. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Price: $140

---

Nose: Very orangey indeed. In a way reminiscent of artificial orange drink. The orange smell is very strong, but behind that there’s some clay, malt, and vanilla.   

Palate: Pretty thick. And very orangey once again. Orange drink and orange skittles, with a hint of something like cinnamon. The malt is there, but the orange brandy finish is very strong. Very sweet and candy-like. 

Finish: To no surprise, it’s again quite orangey. Some cake and vanilla frosting along with the candy flavor. It’s a little overbearing. Comes off as rather artificial here, too. Orange Tictacs maybe. 

---

Conclusion: It certainly delivers on the label. Can’t miss the orange flavor, though again it’s more like orange candy or orange drink than an actual orange. I don’t know exactly what this cask is. The Chinese is simply “orange liquor” and I don’t know if it’s a distilled product or more like a wine. Never had it in Taiwan. I appreciate that Omar is experimenting with different cask types and taking advantage of what’s available in Taiwan. In this case, the result is interesting, but not great. 

Buy again? Nope. Omar is try before buy for me at this point.

Score: 68

---

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Kavalan Solist Manzanilla)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Amrut Peated CS)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Taketsuru Pure Malt)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Bushmills 10 Malt)
• 0-49: Blech.