Oban

Oban distillery came first; the busy ferry town grew up around it. Squeezed between the harbour and a cliff, it has never been able to expand — just two small stills, making it one of Scotland's smallest classic distilleries — and scarcity is part of its charm. The whisky splits the difference between Highland fruit and island salt: orange peel, honey and a drift of sea smoke, the taste of the west-coast crossing in a glass.