Oban Little Bay Scotch Whiskey (750Ml)

Immediately, it seems on the thin side. The nose is restrained, offering more citrus and sweetness, but less smoke. The body is quite malty, but the chewiness comes at the expense of a lot of that fruity character. What remains is a sense of oatmeal character, some light cinnamon notes, and a touch of lemon peel that grows on the finish. None of this seems particularly enlightening, almost like the standby Oban 14 has been muzzled a bit, then bottled as a special edition. Dark amber in color, Oban Little Bay has a rich and vibrant malty nose with dried apple, dried plums, caramel, honey, allspice, and oak. Theres a solid balance between the rich and spicy characteristics. The scotch entry is very flavorful and expressive, matching the nose quite well with toasted malt, green apple, dried apricot, salt, chocolate, and orange peel. In the mid palate the real impact of the small cask finish is quite apparent as the spice elements noticeably increase with clove and oak without abandoning the sweet dried fruit underneath. After the peak of the mid palate, Oban Little Bay backs off quite a bit for a lightly acidic and slightly spicy finish. Its a fairly light and slightly dry finish that ends fairly clean.