Oban Little Bay

Un bel hybride entre un peated et un Speyside. Odeur de pomme et goût très floral. Un peu tourbé à la manière d’un Highland Park. Goût franc et court. Belle découverte alors qu’on voulait goûter au 14 ans. Goûté à l’Ile Noire en 2022-07.

“Oban” means “Little Bay" in Gaelic; thus this is “Little Bay Little Bay.” LB2 is a no-age statement (NAS) whisky; the distillery says that it “takes mature small batch Oban Single malt” without quantifying what exactly “mature” means. It then finishes them in smaller barrels, providing more wood exposure. Deep tawny gold color. Complex, fruity nose has the classic Oban ripe pear, with honey, quince, guava, and fig preserves on toast. Viscous mouthfeel reveals orange chocolate, light ethanol, faint peat, and white pepper, finishing with some pleasantly drying leather, a whiff of smokiness, and bitter chocolate. 43% ABV. LB2 has more intensity than the Oban 14 or 18, with a more robust flavor profile, not dissimilar to the Distiller’s Edition (minus the sherry cask finishing). At around $50, this is one of the best scotch whisky values out there, combining complexity and easy-drinking sweetness that is appealing to both afficionado and neophyte alike. 4.25 on the Distiller scale. N.B. All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

This is my first recorded taste of an Oban whisky and my first ever taste of this expression. This is a first pour from a freshly opened bottle, tasted neat from a NEAT spirits tasting glass. The pour is a lovely brassy color and exhibits good sheeting and thick, slow legs drizzling back to the bowl on a swirl of the glass. On the nose this is absolutely delightful. I immediately get freshly sliced Honeycrisp and Gala apples. I'm also smelling demerara sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and baked apple pie filling. On the palate this is as gentle, smooth (I really don't like that descriptor, but damn if it isn't applicable here), silky, and rich as I could ask for. The mouthfeel of this whisky is exemplary. There is a sweet opening flavor that immediately brings association with apple skins, fresh baked apples, slight baking spices, brown sugar, and sweet grains. This is followed by other orchard fruits . I'm getting d'anjou and green pears, golden figs, and traces of ripe blackberry juice. Wow, this has a lot going on! The finish is long but very gentle A full minute after a swallow I can still sense the tingle of fresh ginger and there's a sweet coating left from mid to back palate and along the roof of the mouth. This is very inviting and its easy to want more. I purchased this at Costco for the princely sum of $38. As I understand it this is typically at $50+ bottle. This is an incredible bargain for a scotch whisky this refined. Even at $60 I'd be happy with this bottle. At the purchase price I found I've already put another trip to my local Costco on my calendar. I 'll be returning with a few more bottles of this!

Smooth!! Light. Great sipping Scotch.

Seat salt, wood dust, biscuit, and a tiny peat.