Oban

Region: Western Highlands

Owner: Diageo

Founded: 1794

Oban is one of those wonderfully idiosyncratic Scottish distilleries. Firstly, it is one of a few distilleries that condenses its spirit in worm tubs, like Ballindalloch, Balmenach, Benrinnes, Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Craigellachie, Dalwhinnie, Edradour, Glen Elgin, Mortlach, Pulteney, Royal Lochnaghar, Speyburn, Springbank and Taliker. All of these distilleries are famous for their weighty spirit character and sometime heavily sulphured character!

However, as we have seen from the likes of Glen Elgin and Royal Lochnagar, that it is possible to produce as spirit that was some of the weight and body associated with worm tub spirit but also to imbue the spirit with a lightness and elegance. The key, of course to getting this balance is to make sure that you distil slowly and maximise the reflux. At Oban keeping that balance is pretty tricky given that the distillery is fitted out with two relatively small onion shaped stills (one 12,600 litre Wash Still and a 7,200 litre Spirit Still), although both stills feature a pinched neck.

The production begins with a long wort fermentation of 100 hours, to build up that fruity, estery base and distillation is very slow and just like at Glen Elgin and Royal Lochnagar they circulate warm water in the tubs which teases out a little more copper contact before the spirit returns to a liquid form. The distillery also likes to rest its stills between runs, this allows the oxygen in the air more time to rejuvenate the copper, before starting all over again. The end result, although nowhere near as meaty and sulphury like Dalwhinnie for example is given plenty of time in the oak for any latent sulphur notes to be well and truly removed, which leaves a lovely, rich, sometimes rather over sweet and honeyed, weighty single malt.

Sometimes I pick up an almost saltiness in the spirit and given that the distillery is situated amongst the harbourside buildings on the west coast of Scotland. However, it only has room for one small dunnage warehouse, so I would imagine that a fair amount of its casks are stored at Diageo’s Cluny Bond near Kirkcady in Fife, which when I last checked was a number of miles from the coast. Some commentators, such as Dave Broom claim that this perceived saltiness is actually the warm worms adding a spiciness, and others that it is the minerality of the water which comes from the Loch Glenn a’Bhearraidh. Wherever that saltiness comes from Oban is a all-round lovely malt, which certainly works well in both ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks.

(Image Copyright James Mortimer Photography)