Oban The Managers’ Choice 8 Years Old 2000

The Managers' Choice was a 2009 series in which each Diageo distillery manager selected a single cask, this one a 2000 vintage Oban bottled at eight years from an outturn of 534. It comes from the small West Highland distillery founded in 1794, one of the oldest distilleries still running in Scotland, still running on its single pair of little stills.

Maturation was in a European oak Oloroso sherry cask, numbered 1186, a wood that brings both sherry fruit and the firmer spice of European oak. The spirit is made slowly and condensed in hot external worm tubs for ample copper contact, the mild, fruity make taking the active sherry cask quickly at this young age. European oak brings more tannin and spice than American oak, and paired with an Oloroso seasoning it works quickly on a young spirit, which is why this eight year old already carries real depth.

Bottled at a natural 58.7%, it is young, bold and rich. The Oloroso cask's melanoidins give raisin and a walnut depth, while European oak adds eugenol for a clove and baking spice note and a firmer tannin. Oban's honey and saline edge sit beneath the sherry, the finish long, spiced and warming, opening well with water.