Oban 18 Year

Very good. Well worth $100

Heavily peated, light smoke with notes of honey.

Balanced and middle of the road, but is a bit like manufactured complexity that doesn’t quite all come together into anything greater than the sum of its parts. Some honey, stewed fruits, sherry, brine, and maybe a subtle puff of peat, but the biggest flavor is some prominent oak spice and astringency that is more challenging than complimentary. Good, but not great, so it’s hard to justify at the price, although I’ve seen a few stores with favorable prices that’ve somehow created at least the illusion of a bargain versus the overpriced fleecing that the 14 feels like nowadays.

Spicy, Smokey, and Peaty. Not as smooth as I would like for an 18 year old.