Oban

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > O

OBAN

14 years old

43 %

CLASSIC MALTS
'Little Bay of Caves'
West Highland
Malt Scotch Whisky
Oban Distillery,
Stafford Street, Oban, Argyll

De juiste houten vaten selecteren om een single malt in te laten rijpen is traditioneel één van de vaardigheden van de distillateur.

De kombinatie van het hout en de pas gedistilleerde alcohol is mede bepalend voor het karakter van de malt whisky.

Als de gerijpte whisky later opnieuw een tijdje doorbrengt in een tweede vat kan hij aan diepte en complexiteit winnen.

November 1997 werden een beperkt aantal vaten van de zes Classic Malts gebotteld waarvan de whiskies deze bewerking hebben ondergaan.

Montilla, historisch één van de traditionele streken waar sherry wordt gemaakt, produceert fino's met een onmiskenbare, unieke stijl. Licht van kleur, maakt hun droge, zelfs grove zilte karakter hen de perfekte partner als afronding van de unieke ziltigheid van Oban.

De distillateur is (1998) Ian Williams.

OBAN

32 years old

55,1 %
SPECIAL CLASSIC MALTS
West Highland
SINGLE MALT
Scotch Whisky
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled in 1969
Bottled in 2002
6000 bottles
Genummerde flessen
Oban Distillery, Oban, Argyll

OBAN

20 years old

57,9 %
SPECIAL RELEASES 2004
Fine Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled in 1984
Bottled in 2004
1260 numbered bottles
Limited Edition
Oban Distillery, Oban, Argyll

OBAN

14 years old

LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY

43 %

CLASSIC MALTS OF SCOTLAND
THE DISTILLERS EDITION
DOUBLE MATURED
An Exquisite Selection of
Double Matured Malt Whiskies
Chosen from the
very Finest of Scotland's Distilleries
Montilla Fino Cask Wood
West Highland
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
SPECIAL RELEASE
0 D 154. F Q
Distilled 1991
Bottled 2005
Limited Edition
Oban Distillery, Oban, Argyll

OBAN est 1794

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43 %

CLASSIC MALTS SELECTION

Little Bay of Caves

THE DISTILLERS EDITION tm

Distilled 1999

Bottled 2014

DOUBLE MATURED

SPECIAL RELEASE

LIMITED EDITION

OD - 163. FZ

MONTILLA FINO CASK WOOD

Oban Distillery, Stafford Street, Oban, Argyll

GAME OF THRONES

Westeros

Six Kingdoms Mortlach

House Targaryen Cardhu

House Stark Dalwhinnie

House Lannister Lagavulin

House Tully The Singleton of Glendullan

House Tyrell Clynelish

House Baratheon Royal Lochnagar

House Greyjoy Talisker

The Night’s Watch Oban

The Night’s Watch

The sworn brothers of The Night’s Watch take an oath and pledge their

lives to protect the Seven Kingdoms and guard the realms of men from

the terrors that lurk beyond the massive and ancient ice barrier known

as The Wall.

They face a froren wasteland which legends say filled with wildlings, giants,

and the terrifying forces of the Night King and the long night he brings.

They are the swords in the darkness and the watchers on the wall.

Oban

Oban sits beneath the steep cliff that overlooks the bay in the frontier between

the West Highlands and the islands, separating land and sea, just as Castle Black

sits between Westeros and what’s beyond The Wall.

This liquid’s richness is balanced with woody, spicy dryness that could undoubtedly

keep The Night’s Watch warm on even the coldest of nights.

OBAN

CLASSIC MALTS SELCTION tm

Single Malt Scotch Whisky

OBAN DISTILLERY est 1793

BAY RESERVE

A Single Malt Scotch from

The Game of Thrones

43 %

GAME OF THRONES

THE NIGHT’S WATCH

I AM THE SWORD IN THE DARKNESS

Limited Edition Collection

of Single Malts

Oban Distillery, Staffordstreet, Oban, Argyll

GAME OF THRONES

Westeros

The Night Watch

OBAN

HEAR MY WORDS

AND BEAR WITNESS TO MY VOW

NIGHT GATHERS AND NOW MY

WATCH BEGINS. IT SHALL NOT

END UNTIL MY DEATH. I SHALL

TAKE NO WIFE, HOLD NO LANDS

FATHER NO CHILDREN. I SHALL

WEAR NO CROWNS AND WIN

NO GLORY. I SHALL LIVE AND DIE

AT MY POST. I AM THE SWORD

IN THE DARKNESS. I AM THE

WATCHER ON THE WALLS

I AM THE SHIELD THAT GUARDS

THE REALM OF MEN . I PLEDGE

MY LIFE AND HONOUR TO THE

NIGHT’S WATCH. FOR THIS NIGHT

AND ALL THE NIGHTS TO COME

The Western Highlands

OBAN

FRESH FRUIT, MARITIME, ROBUST

Oban, Argyll. Licentiehouder: John Hopkins & Co, Ltd. Oban is onderdeel van Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (S.M.D.). De malt divisie van United Distillers Ltd. Eigendom van Guinness.

Gebouwd in 1794 door Hugh Stevenson, ook de stichter van de stad Oban.

De familie Stevenson waren kooplieden, reders, bouwers van schepen en gebouwen en bezaten ook steengroeven.
Toen Hugh Stevenson in 1819 burgemeester werd van Oban deed hij zijn zakelijke belangen over aan zijn zoon Thomas.
De distilleerderij had toen een waarde van $ 2700, In 1829 ging Thomas Stevenson bankroet.
De koper in 1830 was John Stevenson die was teruggekeerd uit Zuid-Afrika, waar hij als een jonge man was heengegaan.
Oban werd verkocht in 1866 aan Peter Cumstie, koopman te Oban en John Stevenson stierf op 10 April 1869, oud zeventig jaar.
'Black Picturesque Tourist of Scotland' beschreef de stad Oban toen als 'the great rendezvous for tourists in the West Highland's',
Stoomschepen deden vanuit Glasgow en Fort William de stad in het seizoen twee maal per week aan.

Op 1 July 1880 stoomde de eerste stoomtrein Oban binnen.

Walter Higgins kocht Oban van Peter Cumstie in 1883, vernieuwde de distilleerderij en bouwde ook twee lagerpakhuizen.
Tijdens uitbreidings werkzaamheden werd op 16 Augustus 1890 een grot ontdekt waar menselijke skeletten werden ontdekt uit de tijd van 4500 tot 3000 voor Christus.

Oban is one of the six 'Classic Malts' carefully selected to best represent each of the main whisky producing regions of Scotland. They embrace the full diversity of regional tastes and styles.

498 AD was the fateful year when Fergus, Angus and Loam, sons of King Ere of the Scotti mounted an eastern expedition from the Glens of Antrim to invade and colonise the Oban shores, naming their kingdom 'Dalriada'. Fergus Mac Ere became the first monarch, his seat the great fortress of 'Dunaad'. Angus and Loam held the lands to the North and South to which latter Loam gave his name. The monarch moved North to the ancient Pictish fortress of Dun a Mhonaidh near Oban. The Scotti brought with them the sacred block of time worn red sandstone known as 'Lia Fail' the symbolic 'Stone of Destiny'.

The coastland of the gaelic people known as 'Earra Gael' fell to the dreaded Viking over-lordship in the middle of the eight century when their rule was at its harshest. It was then that the warrior King Somerled mac Gillibride became foremost in Oban history. Part Viking, part Celt, he rallied his respressed and despairing countrymen leading them towards a new lasting freedom from their oppressors. His spirit is said to live upon the predi-pitous crag of Dun Ollaigh which for centuries has been the home for the descendants of his son and heir Dougall mac Somhairlie, the founder of the great 'Clan Macdougall'.

Along the shores of Lorn lies a record of man far more ancient than that of any city in the land. The first settlers arrived on the mainland in 5000 BC and sheltered in the natural caves of the land then known as 'An Ob'. 'The Distillery Cave' was one such shelter hidden in the creag a 'Bharrain cliffs which rise dramatically above the Oban Distillery.

Guinness nam Arthur Bell & Sons Limited in 1986 over, in 1987 The Distillers Company Ltd, (D.C.L.) en in 1988 werden beide groepen van bedrijven samengevoegd en de nieuwe naam werd United Distillers Limited. (U.D.).
Op 12 Mei 1997 werd de fusie bekend gemaakt tussen Guinness en Grand Metropolitan, (Grand Met).

Op 16 Oktober 1997 staakt de Fransman Bernard Arnault van L M V H zijn verzet tegen de fusie voor een afkoopsom van € 800.000.000. De nieuwe naam van de gefuseerden zou eerst G M G Brands worden maar op 22 Oktober werd bekend gemaakt dat de naam Diageo zou worden, afgeleid van het Latijnse woord voor dag en het Griekse woord voor wereld.
Diageo wordt het grootste drankenconcern ter wereld, groter dan Seagram en Allied Domecq samen en met een omzet van 40 miljard gulden. Diageo is de overkoepelende naam voor vier ondernemingen: United Distillers & Vintners, (U.D.V.), Pilsbury, Guinness en Burger King.

Op 31 Maart 1998 wordt bekend dat het ginmerk Bombay en het whiskymerk Dewar's voor € 1,5 miljard worden verkocht aan Bacardi Martini. Het afstoten van de twee merken was een voorwaarde van de autoriteiten in de V.S. voor goedkeuring van de fusie.

Onderdeel van deze verkoop is de overname van de distilleerderijen Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie en Royal Brackla door Bacardi Martini.
Balmenach wordt in December 1997 verkocht aan Inver House,

Op 18 December 2000 wordt Seagram voor 8,15 miljard dollar overgenomen door Diageo en Pernod Ricard. Diageo betaalt 5 miljard (=61 %) en Pernod Ricard de rest (= 39 %).
Pernod Ricard komt in het bezit van de Schotse whiskymerken en distilleerderijen van Sea-gram.

Deze skeletten worden bewaard in het National Museum of Antiquities te Edinburgh.
Walter Higgins verkocht Oban aan The Oban and Aultmore - Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd, op: 27 Juli 1898, het kapitaal bedroeg E 160.000

De eerste directeuren waren Alexander Edward van Sanquhar te Forres, en eigenaar van Aultmore en ook de eigenaar van Benrinnes, R.C. GREIG en R.B. Gillespie Greig van Wright & Greig Ltd, te Glasgow, blenders van de toen heel bekende Roderick Dhu whisky en F.W. Brick-man te Leith, een whiskymakelaar.

Oban beleefde een heel moeilijke tijd, toen in 1899 de gebroeders Pattison bankroet gingen

Pattison Ltd was een belangrijke afnemer van Oban en veel andere distilleerderijen, waarvan van velen sloten, andere firma's meeslepend en ook F.W. Brickman ging bankroet.

De beperkingen tijdens de eerste wereldoorlog verhoogden de problemen aanzienlijk en het gevolg was dat onderneming Aultmore verkocht aan John Dewar & Sons Ltd en Oban aan een nieuw gevormde onderneming met een aandelen kapitaal van E 20.000.

Onder de nieuwe directeuren was ook Alexander Edward.

In 1930 werd Oban verkocht aan Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd.

Oban was gesloten tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog en werd weer opgestart in 1948.

De vloermouterij sloot in 1968.
De twee ketels werden vanaf 1972 met stoom verhit.
Het water komt van Loch Gleann a' Bhearraidh.
Oban produceert 660.000 liter spirit per jaar.

Oban maakt deel uit van de 'Classic Malts' serie en 'The Distillers Edition' van United Distillers Ltd.

Het water komt van Loch Gleann a Bhearraidh.
De Mash tun is 6 ton.
De Wash backs, vier stuks, zijn elk 31.000 liter.
De Wash still heeft een inhoud van 12.600 liter, de Spirit still 7.200 liter en worden met stoom verhit.
November 1999: De vier houten Wash backs worden vervangen door vier nieuwe, ook van hout.
Manager is (2000) Steve Blake.
2005 Kapaciteit: 700.000 liter spirit per jaar.

October 2005
Diageo has announced that its 2005 Annual Rare Malts Selection will be the last.
The collection will consist of four cask strenght single malts from closed distilleries; Glen Mhor 28 years old, Millburn 35 years old, Glendullan 26 years old and Linkwood 30 years old.
Dr. Nicholas Morgan, global malts marketing director commented: 'As the Special Releases are now well established, it makes less sence to continue selecting and promoting a parallel series of Rare Malts with his own separate indentity'.
In future, all premium and rare whiskies will be made available in the annual Special Re-leases series.

CLASSIC MALTS OF SCOTLAND
October 2005
De Classic Malts of Scotland serie, bestaande uit:
Glenkinchie 10 years old,
Dalwhinnie 15 years old,
Cragganmore 12 years old,
Oban 14 years old,
Talisker 10 years old,
Lagavulin 16 years old

verandert van samenstelling
Oban 14 year old wordt vervangen door Glen Elgin 12 years old, Lagavulin 16 years old wordt vervangen door Caol Ila 12 years old
Dit komt omdat de betrokken distilleerderijen de produktie niet meer aankunnen.

CLASSIC MALT SELECTION
tegelijkertijd wordt onder de naam Classic Malts Selection een 3- Bottle Plinth uitgebracht met:
Glen Elgin 12 years old,
Talisker 10 years old,
Caol Ila 12 years old

Glen Elgin
Speyside
12 years old
FRUITY
Natuur geuren 15 %
Fruitigheid 60 %
Turf 10 %
Houttonen 15 %
deze malt kenmerkt zich door zijn volle en zachte smaak met een explosie van vers geel fruit

Talisker
Skye
10 years old
POWERFUL
Natuur geuren
Fruitigheid 30 %
Turf 70 %
Houttonen
een aromatische, explosieve en prikkelende malt van Skye die uiteindelijk ook zoete tonen laat proeven

CAOL ILA
Islay
12 years old
SMOKY
Natuur geuren 50 %
Fruitigheid
Turf 50 %
Houttonen
een malt met een duidelijk karakter, krachtig compleet met zee-aroma's en de geur van hout-vuur

Oban Distillery was visited by Alfred Barnard and described by him in his survey of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, 1887: "It is a quaint old-fashioned work, and dates back prior to the existence of the town, having been built in the year 1794 ... by the family of Stevenson, the founders of the town of Oban, which previous to their advent was only a small fishing village."

The Stevensons were also engaged in slate quarrying, house building and shipbuilding. Robert Stevenson was quarrying on the island of Belnahua in 1747 and John Stevenson, mason, of Oban, was building bridges in 1751. Hugh Stevenson, of Belnahua, andmerchant of Oban, founded Oban Distillery. This establishment was visited by Professor Jeffray of Glasgow on behalf of the House of Commons Committee on Distilleries in Scotland, which sat in 1798-99. "At Oban", he reported, "I found things in a much better situation" than elsewhere in the Highlands: "the distillery had been fitted up for abrewery: the barns were large and the granary ample. The person who had the charge of the work had been bred a distiller in the Lowlands", where the technology of whisky production was more advanced.

Hugh Stevenson became Oban's second provost in 1819, when he seems to have transferred his business interests to a son, Thomas, whose assets were sequestrated in 1829. The assets included the distillery (valued at £2,700), farms, house property, a hotel "in part erected", the island of Belnahua and its slate quarries, two steamboats and a sloop. Much of his whisky trade was seaborne to Glasgow and ports on the Firth of Clyde. "That neat and compact distillery situated at Oban", containing "an engine for grinding malt, with ample malting premises, bonding warehouse, feeding house for 30 head of cattle", etc., was offered for sale in 1830. The buyer was John Stevenson, Thomas's nephew. He had lived in South America as a young man and later acquired many interests in Oban, where he died, aged 70, on 10 April 1869. The distillery had been sold in 1866 to Peter Cumstie, merchant of Oban.

Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland, 1865, described Oban as "the great rendezvous for tourists in the West Highlands". Steamships sailed twice a week in the season to and from Glasgow and Fort William, and took visitors on the tour to Staffa, Iona and Skye. A new era began on 1 July 1880 when the first scheduled passenger train steamed into Oban Station. The railway confirmed the town's position as the hub of the West Coast's network of steam packets and provided a quicker and more convenient means of travel to and from Glasgow.

Walter Higgin bought Oban Distillery from Cumstie in 1883 and by the time of Barnard's visit had "made vast improvements in the machinery and appliances, and built two new warehouses". The residence of the Stevenson family had been converted into offices, keeping the "peep-hole door" in the former sitting room which the proprietor had installed to watch the progress of operations in the still house. Then, as now, most of the annual output of 0 gallons (910 hectolitres) was used for blending. The rest of the make, describedby Barnard as "a good self-whisky", was sold in bottle under labels embellished with a panoramic view of the town, and carrying Higgin's signature as a guarantee of authenticity. One of these bottles was opened by a Manchester wine and spirit merchant in 1979. He reported that the contents had "a soft and fragrant nose".
The distillery, in Barnard's words, had been "built under a rock, which rises 400 feet high, and is festooned with creepers and ivy". Under this rock, the Glasgow Herald reported on 16 August 1890, a cave was discovered "in the course of some rock-blasting operations in connection with the enlargement of premises at the Oban Distillery". All work was stopped by Higgin until the site had been carefully examined. It contained human bones from the Mesolithic era (c. 4500-3000 BC) and implements, now kept at the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. The entrance to the caves has been sealed to prevent vandalism.
Walter Higgin sold out to The Oban and Aultmore-Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd., a company registered on 27th July 1898. Its capital totalled £10 and the first directors were Alexander Edward, of Sanquhar, Forres, the owner of Aultmore and the promoter of many distillery enterprises, R.C. Greig and R.B. Gillespie Greig, of Wright & Greig Ltd., Glasgow, blenders ofRoderick Dhu Scotch whisky, and F.W. Brickman, Leith, a whisky broker. The new company suffered a heavy blow in its first year with the resounding failure of Pattisons Ltd., a Leith blending company that had been one of the largest customers for its make. Output had to be severely cut and the share capital was substantially reduced to meet the new conditions

.
Government restrictions on the whisky industry during the war of 1914 to 1918 created new difficulties, as a result of which the company received and accepted offers for the sale of its distilleries in 1923. Aultmore was bought byJohn Dewar & Sons Ltd., and Oban by a new company incorporated with a share capital of £0. The directors included Alexander Edward. Oban Distillery Co. paid handsome dividends almost without a break until 1930. Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. bought the entire share capital in that year.

Externally, the massive, fortress-like stone buildings, packed between the cliff and the main street, have hardly changed since the turn of the century. Internally, they have been re-equipped since production, interrupted by the second world war, restarted in 1948.
The two hand-fired stills were converted to a mechanical coal stoker system in 1960. The floor maltings closed in 1968 and the distillery as a whole ceased production for the twelve months to July 1969. The stillhouse was rebuilt in 1972 when the two stills were converted to internal heating by steam.
Most of the make is used for blending, but a small proportion is bottled as a single malt whisky.

The distillery is at the heart of Oban - 'Gateway to the Isles'. In effect, the town g up around the distillery, founded by John and Hugh Stevenson in 1794.
Oban's attractive West Highland character reflects its location, revealing aspects of the Highland and the Island styles. Elegant and glowing, it marries the sea air charac of the Island malts to the soft, richly fruity style of the Highlands, creating its ow rich tasting West Highland Malt.

The stills here are among the smallest in Scotland. The cramped nature of the site pla severe limits on production, which in turn means that demand for Oban's richly appreci malt is always likely to exeed supply.
Few malts were ever made in the Western Highlands and only two now remain. Oban, like home, remains their capital.
Oban is the unforgettable West Highland destination on a journey around Scotland's six whisky making regions. The other Classic Malts are: Glenkinchie, Lowlands, Dalwhinnie, land, Cragganmore, Speyside, Talisker, Skye and Lagavulin Islay.

The stills are small (onion-shaped in Oban’s case) and condensing takes place in worm tubs. Yet if you were to spend a week at the distillery you would note that they do not run every day. In fact, Oban produces significantly less than it could. The reason for this is to retain its character. Oban’s make is light rather than heavy, and that means a lot of copper contact is needed – tricky in a small still/worm tub site. The solution – as with Royal Lochnagar – is to run the worms hot which extends the amount of copper available, and also to open the doors of the stills after distillation to allow oxygen to rejuvenate the copper.

The result is a clean, intensely fruity spirit which after ageing in refill casks also has a tingling mineral spiciness which some pick up as saltiness.

Oban is unusual in being both a seaside distillery and an urban one. Its story is inextricably tied to the town in whose High Street it is wedged. Indeed, the site is as old as the present town itself.

In the late 18th century, the Duke of Argyll, keen to build business on his lands, offered low rents to anyone who would build a house. The enterprising Stevenson brothers (John and Hugh) bought the island of Belnahua in 1780 to quarry slate for a project which would take advantage of this incentive scheme. They weren’t planning to build a house, but a town.

In 1793, they had laid out what is today’s Oban, and at its heart they built a brewery. A year later there is a record of distillation taking place, though the first official record only dates from 1799. The Oban distillery would remain in the family’s ownership until 1866 when it was sold to local businessman Peter Cumstie who held it until 1883 when he sold it to John Walter Higgin.

Throughout this period, its reputation was growing, but transport was always difficult. Although Oban was by now a thriving port it took time to get the whisky to the main market of Glasgow. It was given a lifeline in 1888 when the railway from Glasgow arrived.

Further success on the market saw Higgin rebuild the distillery – what you see today is his design. He then sold it on in 1898 to another entrepreneur, Alexander Edward [Aultmore, Craigellachie] who retained ownership until 1930, when it was taken by DCL (now Diageo).

A very small site (it only has two stills), by the ‘60s Oban was at the mercy of an industry which was in expansive mood and, in 1968, DCL announced that it would be closed. The decision however was reversed with the building of the present stillhouse in 1972.

Soon after (in 1979) Oban became an early player in what was the new single malt category with the launch of a 12-year-old expression. In 1989, it was relaunched as a 14-year-old when Oban joined the Classic Malts Selection. It was at this point that it began to build its significant following in the US market.

These days, in excess of 35,000 visitors pass through its doors. Not bad for a sma’ still.

1778

John and Hugh Stevenson

slives in Oban and starts shipbuilding

1793

John and Hugh Stevenson begin

brewing in Oban

1794

Records show distillation starts

at the plant (official

records state this occurred in 1799)

1798

1173 ltrs of spirit distilled

1817

Hugh Stevenson is bankrupt

1818

Donald Carmichael has two stills

with 605 and 273 Ltrs

1820

Hugh Stevenson dies and a year

later his son,

Thomas, assumes control

1825

Thomas Stevenson produces 64.445 Ltrs spirit

1826

Thomas Stevenson produces 44.965 Ltrs spirit

1829

Thomas Stevenson files for bankruptcy and his eldest,

John, buys Oban out of debt

John produces 51.025 Ltrs spirit

1831

31.818 Ltrs of alcohol produced

1832

41.633 Ltrs spirit produced

1833

63.786 ltrs of spirit produced

1860

Oban distillery leaves family

ownership for the first

time when it is sold to Peter Cumstie

1873

Robert Walker is licensee

1877

William Higgins is licensee

1883

The distillery is sold to

James Walter Higgin who

rebuilds it

1888

The railway from Glasgow is

extended into Oban

1890

A big Fire beaks out in the distillery

1898

Alexander Edward purchases

Oban distillery under

the Oban & Aultmore-Glenlivet Co

among the owners Dewar-Buchanan

Wright & Greig Ltd, distillers & blenders, Glasgow,

F.W Brickman, R.P Pattison, Walter Pattison both

blenders in Leith

Charles Dee Doig is architect for a new pagodaroof

1899

Architect George Woulfe Brenan is the architect in

1899, 1907 and 1914 for partly new buildings

Pattisons Ltd is bankrupth

1923

The plant is sold to the

Oban Distillery Co, subsidiary of Buchanan

Dewar

1925

Oban is sold to DCL, and then onto

SMD in 1930

1926

A fire breaks out

1931

SMD ceased production for six years

1937

Oban in production again

1940

Oban ceased production

1947

Oban starts again production

1960

Caol firing by hand is changed in mechanical

working

1968

After some 30 years back in production,

Oban is closed again for four years

while it's extended and stops malting

1972

Caol firung stops, steam heating starts for

the two stills

1979

Oban appears on the market as a 12-year-

old single malt

1989

Oban is relaunched as a 14-year-old in the

Classic Malts selection; the visitors' centre

opens

1992-1997

Renovation to produce more whiskies for

singe malt whisky, hence the Classic Malts Series

2002

The oldest Oban released to-date is a 32-year

old in just 6,000 bottles

2013

A limited edition Oban 21 Year Old is released

2015

Oban Little Bay is released

2016

A distillery Exclusive no age is released

2018

A 21 year old is released in the Special Release

Series

2019

Night Watch, Oban Bay Reserve

Game of Thrones)

and Old Teddy are released

2020

Capacity: 870.000 Ltrs

Output: 850.000 Ltrs

2021

a 12 years old Rare by Nature is released

2022

A 10year old Special release Amontillado

released 57,1 % Celestial Blaze in the

Legends Untold

1,5 00.000 Oban Single Malt Whiskies

are sold every year.

With help from Robin Brilleman

CONDENSER TYPE i

Worm tub

FERMENTATION TIME i

Minimum 60hrs

FILLING STRENGTH i

63.5%

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

6.5

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

Lightly peated

MALT SUPPLIER i

Mainly in house

MASH TUN TYPE i

Lauter

NEW-MAKE PHENOL LEVEL i

Lightly peaty

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

68%

SPIRIT STILL CHARGE (L) i

6,600

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Lamp glass

STILLS i

WASH STILL CHARGE (L) i

11,000

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Lamp glass

WASHBACK TYPE i

Wood

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Loch Gleann & Bhear Raidh

WORT CLARITY i

Clear

YEAST TYPE i

Creamed

Diageo

1997 - present

United Distillers

1986 - 1997

Distillers Company Limited

1925 - 1986

John Dewar & Sons

1923 - 1925

Oban & Aultmore-Glenlivet Co

1898 - 1923

James Walter Higgin

1883 - 1898

Peter Curnstie

1866 - 1883

The Stevenson Family

1794 - 1866

OBAN BAY RESERVE,

GAME OF THRONES

THE NIGHT’S WATCH

SCORE

Scoring explained >

43%

PRODUCTION TYPE

Single malt whisky

REGION

Highland

FLAVOUR CAMP

Fruity & Spicy

NOSE

That’s funky. The (not unpleasant) aroma of goat’s cheese and stale hay is striking, but calms into bitter cocoa powder and densely syrupy black morello cherries, accompanied by a waft of mentholic Vaporub and waxy petroleum jelly.

PALATE

The waxiness continues onto the palate, where dark berry pie, with blackcurrants, liquorice and cocoa nibs, dominates. Toasted oak spice prickles the sides of the tongue, while dried citrus peel, cloves and cinnamon add some lift.

FINISH

Dark fruits and a smidge of that funky goat’s cheese.

CONCLUSION

Oban has a dark side. Highly recommended.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

The Winds of Winter whip around the Wall as the Night’s Watch gather their strength for the impending battle.