Oban 14

This Oban 14 was bought at the Duty Free shop at Changi Airport. It was selling for about $70. Fairly reasonable price for a reasonable drink. I bought this as something like a daily dram - complex and nice enough to drink regularly, and not too expensive that I'll feel like I better savour every single drop.

I first tried it at a bar along Somerset, and found a rather strong oak taste in the Oban 14, which I did not really enjoy, though there were other notes in there that were interesting enough. I am glad that the overt oakiness is much more muted in the bottle I bought than in the glass I had at the bar. Maybe the oak becomes more pronounced with oxidation and time? Anyhows.

Colour: Gold. Somewhat orangey. Between gold and amber. My vocabulary for describing colours is limited.

Nose: Something fruity comes up at first. A melon. Maybe a somewhat raw honey dew, with some sourness still in it, especially just under the skin. Oranges as well. A light sea breeze, bringing with it whiffs of seaweed. Suggestions of smoke, but this is not strong on the nose. The oak comes through as a backdrop, being present but a little muted through all of this other smells.

Palate: Fruit comes to mind once the liquid hits the tongue. The same fruit tastes as in the nosing. A little bit of bitterness, like tea. The palate is sprinkled with a small pinch of sea salt and pepper. Malt, cereal-like flavours, and oak again. This oak is coming up quite regularly, but not strong enough to throw the dram off balance. In general, the mix of flavours go quite well.

Finish: The smoke comes up in the finish, a lingering smoky feel at the back of the throat. Oak is present there, together with the malt/cereal like flavours. Breathing through the mouth brings back hints of pepper (feels like black, unground pepper).

Fairly straight forward dram, this one. Nothing much hiding behind the scenes, no long, complex unfurling of layers of flavours, no explosion, nothing very unexpected. Nose to palate to finish is pretty straightforward.

For me, I often find myself comparing this to the Talisker 10. Similar taste profile, with the things that are present in the Oban 14 present in the Talisker 10 as well. However, the Talisker 10 has a wilder side to it, is less shy on the peat, smoke and pepper, and has a bourbon like sweetness that isn't as present in the Oban 14. I like the pepper explosion in the Talisker 10 better, but that doesn't mean that the Oban 14 is a bad whisky. It is perhaps not as good as the Talisker 10, but for someone who likes that bit of smoke and is just looking for a simple dram to round off the day, the Oban 14 is a good bet.