The tiny lamp glass-shaped copper pot stills that make Oban’s Scotch are among the smallest in Scotland, and the liquor they distill is slowly condensed in wooden worm tubs outside among the rooftops, exposed to the salted sea air, bringing a distinct depth of flavour said to go very well with salted caramel.
Nose: Immediate and confident; rapidly gaining intensity. Warming and sweet: oily, waxy and nutty, balanced by delicate ripe orchard fruits. Then, lighter notes of an almondy fruit cake sit atop a denser layer of Christmas pudding. Behind, malty cereal notes are offset by aromatic orange. Much later: traces of brine and smoke, a little menthol and pine resin.
Palate: Dense and coating, spicy too; sweet, yet menthol- fresh. Filling and warming, with the comforting chewiness of rich fruit-bread and hints of orange zest and clove, before growing drier, still minty, with crisp green apple. Less dense and fruitier with just a little water, which allows the classic Oban fruit, malt, and maritime hints free reign until the balancing, drying spice returns.
Finish: In a word, long. Quite syrupy at first, then drying, with elegant coating tannins rich in dark chocolate character. Later, pine-fresh. At once cleansing yet chewy, with just a trace of late, slightly cedary, smoke.