Review: Oban Distillers Edition 2011 – Distilled 1996
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This limited edition Oban is 14 years old, a western Highlands malt that is finished in Montilla Fina sherry casks.
A dry whisky, this malt is thick with barley character, washed with dry — not fruity or citrus-inflected — sherry character, almost Madeira-like in the way it comes across on the palate.
Briny and thick with the seaweed-fueled notes, it’s a different dram in a world of heavily fruity and floral whiskys. The smokiness on the finish doesn’t so much recall a peat fire as it does the last embers of a campfire on the beach. Those looking for a sweeter, fruit-forward whisky will be disappointed in the more sedate spirit offered here, but those expecting yet another overwhelming peat bomb will be considerably surprised.
86 proof.
B+ / $77 / malts.com
