Oban Grandson Derek

Grandson Derek is one of Oban's playfully named distillery bottlings, part of the Macleans series sold to visitors, this run reaching 4662 bottles. It comes from the small West Highland distillery dating from 1794 in the little bay on the Argyll coast, one of the oldest and smallest in the country, still working its two little stills.

The whisky, without an age statement, matured in ex-Bourbon oak, soft refill wood that lets the distillery character show. Oban's spirit is made slowly, long fermentation feeding the compact pot stills, the vapour condensed in hot worm tubs whose generous copper contact keeps the make soft and fruity before the cask adds its sweetness. The Macleans releases carry quirky personal names rather than age statements, visitor bottlings that lean on a fuller strength and the distillery character rather than long maturation.

Bottled at a fuller 52.3%, it is bright and coastal. Vanillin from the broken down lignin gives vanilla, creamy coconut comes from the oak lactones, and the cask frames honey, orchard fruit and citrus against Oban's sea salt. A faint wisp of smoke threads a long, malty close that opens with a little water.