I remember a quote from Anne of Green Gables: ''I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them.'' Almost anywhere you look right now the shades of greens and oranges are laid out at times ethereal, at times sublime. Very thrilling.
We've got a fitting fall scotch today, a classic, Oban 14.
The nose is dominated by a mild apple/pear smell but there's a little funk there.
We're trying to put our finger on the funk. Simon goes mossy dirt? Woody peat? Grassy? Trevor nails it with ''musty old barn''. It's kind of like manure... but we like it.
Orange stands out after a little while.
Scott pulls some honey, Kyle some caramel in the background.
We cheers.
Nice mouthfeel.
Not as sweet on the palate as the nose.
A mild peat stands out. A little salt.
Some sweet on the finish. Very well balanced.
Trevor gets a little orangy citrus. Simon gets a mild salty tart.
Very low spice. Mild, gentle, and balanced scotch.
We've seen many people recommend this as a starter scotch for this reason. Problem is that at $125 in Ontario, it's not a starter price point.
Scott get's honey on the palate after a while. Some of us get there.
Simon get's a distinct pear taste on the finish.
A little bit of the hay/barn that we got on the nose comes through on the finish.
Simon likes the balance and the complexity on this one. It's a little gentle for his tastebuds but very enjoyable. He goes 75. Trevor likes the interesting funk this has in the background. It's a little pricey. He goes 70. Scott goes 76. Nose is a bit boring, and he doesn't get the mystery smell. He likes that it has a bit of everything, nice mouthfeel, velvety. Sean is set on 76. Funny how apples stood out so much on the nose, yet no one could find them on the palate. Kyle goes 72. We average out at 73.8 tonight.
Our average rating is 72.57. If budget is not a concern, then by all means, this is a great lighter scotch with nice complexity and balance. Otherwise there are many better valued bottles to explore in our opinion. This may or may not end up on our shelves at some point.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew.
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