The Macallan has 24 stills housed under sloping turf-domed roofs alternately said to resemble the rolling Scottish countryside, the ancient Scottish ‘Broch’ or roundhouse or the opening scene from the children’s television show ‘Teletubbies.’

Oban’s proximity to the ocean gives the final spirit a minerality that works overtime to add complexity to the light and fruity new make off the still. I’ve never been overly impressed with Oban 14. It’s always been one of those malts that I get when it’s cheap at a bar, over at a friend’s place or have an after-work-dram with folks in the office because someone always seems to have a bottle, but I’ve never reviewed it… till now. Today, there are five official whisky regions, which are tied to scotch’s unique region of geographic indication allowing it to be a protected product in international trade through pacts with the European Union, the United States and most of the whisky-consuming world. But when the UK government updated the Scotch Whisky Regions in 2009, they discontinued a historical region — the Islands — and rolled it into the Highlands. Oban in Scots Gaelic means’ little bay’ and describes the distillery’s location near the shore of Sound of Kerrera on the coast of the Hebrides. At the plant’s founding in 1793, the town of Oban had not yet been founded. In its early days, the location worked as a brewery, producing ale for inhabitants of the newly laid town. After a few years, the first distillations were recorded.

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The highlands off the coast of the Hebrides archipelago include an array of islands once home to vibrant small distilleries resembling Oban in many ways. But as global consumption of scotch diminished in the latter half of the 20th century and many producers were acquired by major international spirits producers, and market forces caused the closure of many of these Island distilleries. On the nose: There is an initial puff of wax that fades immediately and turns into caramel sauce and bubble gum. A very brief dash of smoke. Tulip petals, dry oats, paprika, and almost a sense of creaminess. Overall, it’s balanced, doesn’t have much complexity, and consistently comes across as delicate. The Macallan — by contrast — has an enormous, recently renovated distillery compound that aims to help the luxury brand take advantage of rabid consumer demand in the luxury drinks market by increasing supply. The Oban 14-year-old is the distillery’s flagship expression. It is distilled from lightly-peated malt, aged in refill ex-Bourbon casks, chill-filtered, and bottled at 43% strength. Oban 14 Years Old – Review

Nose: Sweet, salty and earthy. The earthy tones come through like freshly tilled soil. Lots of iodine and herbs. Hints of orange marmalade and green banana provide sweet undercurrents. And just a puff of smoke makes an appearance. Finish:Short to medium length with a lovely level astringency.A sprinkle of pepper, a touch of cigar tobacco and still that pervasive deep malt. The finish does benefit from some time spent resting in the glass – straight out of the bottle it can seem very short indeed, but it does lengthen, and indeed deepens once it has had a bit of 02. Oban distillery is owned by Diageo. It has only two pot stills, making it one of the smallest in Scotland, producing a whisky that has been described as having a "West Highland" flavour that falls between the dry, smoky style of the Scottish islands and the lighter, sweeter malts of the Highlands. [3] History [ edit ]

Oban 14 Years is the core offering from the Oban distillery which is among the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Erected in 1794 it was the beginning of what would become the city of Oban. Unlike many distilleries that spring up inside of a city, this time the city sprung up around the Distillery.

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It’s among the smaller distilleries in Scotland with only two pot stills which they use to make a moderately peated style of whisky that was once a bit more synonymous with the Highlands than it is today, but still far from being uncommon. The distillery was built in 1794 by the brothers John and Hugh Stevenson and operated by them until 1866, when it was bought by Peter Curnstie. It was then acquired by Walter Higgin in 1883 and rebuilt. In 1898, Alexander Edward, who also owned Aultmore Distillery, bought out Higgin. In its first year of operation, it suffered major losses when a major blending company, Pattison's of Leith, went under. In 1923, Oban was sold to Dewars and joined Distillers Company with that company in 1925. It fell silent from 1931 until 1937 and again from 1969 to 1972 when a new still house was built. In 1989 a new visitors' centre was installed. [4] Bottlings [ edit ] The Oban Distillery is mere steps away from the Sound of Kerrera, which gives the whisky maturing inside the oak casks in the maturation interaction with the salty sea air as the waves crash along the harbor walls of the small coastal town.