
November 13, 2017

A new trio of Arran

We’ve had a lot of Arran a few weeks ago, and many have been truly excellent. That is why we’re now doing a wee sequel… (since plenty is no plague)…

Arran 2009/2017 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice)

I believe this is the first Arran by G&M that we’re trying. Colour: white wine. Nose: totally fresh and adorably malty and fruity. Wandering throughout an orchard somewhere in the centre of France, with mainly white peaches and granny smith apples, all that being coated with some kind of beer and vanilla custard. You may add a dollop of fresh Swiss muesli. Mouth: a bit grassier and more bitter now, but that’s all right. Cut grass, over-brewed green tea, then rounder cereals and limoncello. Also touches of bitter almonds, well in line with the arrival. Finish: rather medium, grassy, and pretty citric. Comments: loved the nose, while the palate was a little more, well, grassy. A solid dram nonetheless. SGP:461 - 82 points.

Arran 17 yo 2000/2017 (54.6%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, sherry hogshead, cask #2000/136, 143 bottles)

Not first fill sherry, according to the robe… Colour: full gold. Nose: Jaffa cakes everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Orange marmalade, biscuits, a touch of milk chocolate, then rather some earl grey tea, dried mint leaves, yellow flowers, maple syrup, honey, chamomile tea… All that is pretty perfect! With water: gets more brioche-y. Love brioche. Mouth (neat): some punch, but in an Arrany manner, that is to say that it is a smooth (oops) punch. Leather, Turkish delights, stewed apples (compote), thyme tea, bergamots, tobacco… The sherryness is relatively light, but it’s there, coming through the tobacco. With water: gets a tad tarter, which is great. Blood oranges, and those Jaffa cakes again and again. Finish: medium, fresh and bright. A touch of liquorice, mint and chocolate, all mingled together, while the aftertaste gets maltier. Some clove. Comments: very, very solid, bordering perfection in my opinion. SGP:551 - 88 points.

Arran 21 yo 1996/2017 (51%, Single Cask Collection, sherry hogshead, 293 bottles)

Let’s see what these excellent Austrian independent bottlers have found for us… Colour: gold. Nose: this is a different style, a little rawer and maltier, with whiffs of bicycle inner tubes and marzipan at first, then rather lime liqueur, green apples, and a wee touch of iodine and bandages. A medicinal Arran? Why not? With water: gets more cake-y and chocolaty, as if water had smoothened it up. The lime’s still there. Mouth (neat): we’re much closer to the OB, that is to say leathery, citric, grassy, with some apple compote and some tobacco. No Turkish delights this time, though. With water: excellent, really. Liquorice, lemons, grass, grapefruits. A lovely sauvignony tightness. Finish: medium, as fresh and bright as the OB. Comments: excellent. Great work from everyone involved. SGP:451 - 88 points.

Now that they’ve almost dropped the gimmicky wine things (apparently), I believe Arran have become one of the few distilleries to watch very closely. Great stuff.

Check the index of all Arran I've tasted so far