Oban Distillers Edition 15 Years Old 1996

This 15 year old comes from a 1996 vintage bottled in 2011, the Distillers Edition that double matures Oban with a finish in Montilla Fino casks. The make is from one of Scotland's smallest working distilleries, first run in 1794 in the little bay on the Argyll coast, still just two small stills.

Ex-Bourbon maturation came first, then a finish in the driest, palest style of sherry. The spirit is distilled gently and cooled in hot worm tubs that lift the copper contact, keeping the make soft and fruity beneath the dry sherry. Montilla Fino matures biologically under flor rather than oxidatively, which strips colour and sweetness from the wine and leaves the cask drier than a comparable Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez butt.

The 43% strength frames a crisp, savoury dram. Almond, a dry nuttiness and a sea salt edge come from the flor dried wood, with a faint bread note where another sherry would give raisin, the oak lending light vanilla. Honey, orchard fruit and brine sit below, the smoke gentle and the close running long and lightly nutty. For all the sherry influence, the make stays recognisably Oban, coastal and honeyed underneath.