I’m almost to the end of my series of reviews of Diageo’s 2023 Special Release slate. For the most part, it has been a somewhat mundane experience. However, Monday’s Clynelish 10 was a true highlight. We’ll remain in the highlands for this penultimate review. Will this Oban, just a year older, be in that general ballpark of quality? Like many of the others in this year’s Special Release, this one received a finish. The Talisker, you will recall, was finished in port casks, the Lagavulin in tequila, the Glendullan in chardonnay and the Mortlach in a mix of Japanese whisky and pinot noir casks. This Oban was finished in casks that had previously held Caribbean pot-still rum. I’m not sure if they said which distillery or even island the relevant pot-still rum was from—at any rate, I don’t have that information. I also rather doubt that this brief finish has been enough to impart “The Soul of Calypso” to this Oban but that is what Diageo has chosen to call it. Anyway, let’s see what it’s like.

Oban 11, Special Release 2023 (58%; Caribbean pot-still rum finish; from a bottle split)

Nose: Quite spirity at first with some indistinct rum notes (aniseed, diesel) the only things that really register. No sign of the whisky on the second, third or fourth sniffs either. After a lot of airing some recognizable Oban character begins to peep out eventually (brine, paper) but the rum still dominates. A few drops of water push the rum back a fair bit and pull out softer notes of cream, citrus and very light toffee.

Palate: A bit of an indistinct rum jumble here too, I’m afraid. Hot at full strength; decent texture. Continues in this vein, getting sweeter (more floral) but no more interesting as it goes. Okay, let’s see if water makes it more interesting. Yes, as on the nose, it pushes the rum back; the citrus (between orange and lemon) is more custardy here.

Finish: Long. All those rum notes continue. Some vegetal bitterness with time. As on the palate with water.

Comments: The Oban seems to have provided a canvas for the rum and the rum has just covered it all up. Frankly, neat, this tastes like a watered-down Jamaican rum. It’s drinkable enough but not at all distinctive. With water the rum takes a backseat and it’s much nicer.

Rating: 83 points. (Pulled up by water.)