Oban 10 Year Old Special Release, Refill & New American Oak, Amontillado Seasoned Cask, 2022, 57.1%

sunbeam_pebble7 Sept

The cask combination is the most intriguing part here: refill and new American oak alongside an Amontillado-seasoned cask. I’d be cautious about assigning the wine-fruit notes to any one element, but they sit interestingly beside sweet violet, spiced plum and the chili-pepper finish. The coastal nose—salt crystal, seaweed and sea air, with faint smoke—gives this 10-year-old single malt a distinct counterpoint. At 57.1%, it reads as a robustly specified release, though strength alone says little about texture. There’s a pleasing contrast in the documented notes, with more going on than a simple wine-fruit impression.