Oban Distillery

Long before it became a bustling port on Scotland’s west coast, Oban was little more than a natural harbour looking out towards the Hebrides. Then, in 1793, brothers John and Hugh Stevenson established a brewery in the tiny coastal settlement, producing beer before turning their attention to the good stuff. In 1794, whisky production began.

As Oban expanded, houses, businesses and streets gradually grew around the little distillery. Today, the distillery sits right in the middle of town, tucked between buildings on Stafford Street. The Stevensons held onto the business for three generations before local merchant Peter Cumpstie bought the distillery in 1830. Over the decades that followed, Oban changed hands several times, while the town itself became an important gateway to the western Highlands and the islands beyond.

When the railway arrived in Oban in 1880, it transformed the town’s connection to the rest of Scotland. Suddenly, people and goods could move in and out far more easily, helping Oban develop into the busy port town we know today.

Today, the distillery operates with just two copper pot stills – one wash still and one spirit still – making it one of Scotland’s smallest distilleries. Annual production is around 670,000 litres of spirit.Those small stills are a big part of what gives Oban its distinctive character, alongside its famously long fermentation and old-school, traditional wooden worm tub condensers. The result is a dastardly rich, fruity and slightly coastal spirit.

Officially, Oban is a Highland single malt, but geographically it sits right on Scotland’s rugged west coast which lends the distillery a palate almost closer to that of the Islands region: think rich malt, ripe fruit and citrus, followed by a whiff of smoke, spice and classic coastal salinity.

In 1988, Oban distillery became one of the original six whiskies in United Distillers’ Classic Malts of Scotland, a collection made to showcase different Scotch whisky regions and their distinctive flavours. Oban represented the West Highlands, alongside Lagavulin for Islay, Talisker for the Islands, Cragganmore for Speyside, Glenkinchie for the Lowlands and Dalwhinnie for the Highlands.

For a relatively tiny distillery, it was a massive opportunity and soon Oban 14 Year Old became the expression most whisky drinkers came to know. Today, Oban remains part of Diageo’s Scotch whisky portfolio, continuing to operate from its compact home in the historic town centre.