An Arran extravaganza


September 18, 2017

An Arran extravaganza

There are more indie Arrans around, and always quite a lot of OBs, including semi-private ones. No, I don’t think we’ll try the over-packaged ones today, but we might stumble upon some peaters…

Arran 10 yo (46%, OB, +/-2016)

The regular 10s often represent the easiest way of grasping the profile of any malt whisky. Indeed, or the 12s. Colour: pale gold. Nose: I like this. It’s got a good butterscotchy maltiness, some good custard without being overly vanilla-ed, and whiffs of raw barley and earth taken by hand from the field. Touches of honey and yellow flowers, and a quarter of a ripe apple. Feels very ‘honest’, whatever that means. Well, that means that it hasn’t been pimped/doctored/finished. Yeah. Mouth: indeed, this is fruity, and simply very good. Some kind of blend of natural Bruichladdich and Balblair, if you like. Apples, oranges, melons, barley, maple syrup, soft honey… Finish: medium, clean, fresh, fruity, and very easy. Comments: very honest indeed, and very well made. Should become a regular in many bars. SGP:541 - 85 points.

Arran 20 yo 1996/2017 (44.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask #DL11608, 136 bottles)

Colour: bronze. Uh-oh, some nails? Patches? Nose: not metals, rather puréed chestnuts, leather polish, pipe tobacco, or rather narguileh tobacco, camphor, chestnut honey, old raisins, balsamico, old chardonnay… Not your regular cask for sure. Had it been leaking? Mouth: really interesting. Something has happened indeed, this is concentrated, rather un-Arran, jammy, with an oxidative style, some old jam mix, fermenting figs, tamarind jam… Really the son of nature! Finish: long and spicier, around nutmeg and bags of cinnamon, and yet it remained very jammy. Pinesap, honeydew, fig jam. Comments: we may have to thank a repairman. Very good and probably non-replicable. SGP:641 - 87 points.

Arran 19 yo 1996/2015 (52.5%, Reifferscheid, Romantic Rhine Collection, sherry puncheon, cask #1306)

Remember a sherry puncheon’s even larger than a butt or a gorda butt (+/-650 litres). Colour: gold. Nose: there’s a mentholy, herbal side right away, then many stewed and dried fruits. Raisins, naturally, strong honey, mead, a touch of damp cardboard… With water: muesli and that silver spoon you’re using to eat that muesli. There has been some ‘tertiary agent’, just like in the DL, although it’s not that pronounced here. Mouth (neat): very good. Marmalade and old jams, raisins, some cider (it’s even a little fizzy), overripe apples, ripe damson plums… No dry sherry, and no walnuts. With water: mead, a little earth. Finish: medium, with even more mead. Comments: unusual and good. The fizzy side on the palate is funny. SGP:651 - 84 points.

Arran 15 yo 2000/2015 (52.9%, OB, private cask, Mizunara The Library, Hong Kong, 302 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: classic Arran, with bags of butterscotch, shortbread, vanilla cake, then rather raisins and apricot jam, ripe plums, then Vicks Vaporub. This will cure you. With water: gets softer and even rounder. Sultanas vs. sultanas, the movie! Mouth (neat): rich, thick, marmalade-y, with some sweet sherry in the front, then rather peppered marmalade and triple-sec. Bags and bags of sultanas, dates, and freshly squeezed oranges. Both heavy and light, if you see what I mean. Very good. With water: mead and barley syrup, with bags of raisins again. A little soft caramel and milk chocolate cream. Finish: medium long, sweet, round, and very raisiny. Malt and pepper are back in the aftertaste, with a firmer signature. Comments: you could think of PX at times. Proper PX, not PX-ed whisky. Like like like. SGP:641 - 87 points.

Arran 17 yo 1998/2016 (53.4%, OB, for Independent Spirit, sherry hogshead, cask # #1998/901, 286 bottles)

Colour: full gold. Nose: classic drier sherry this time, with much less sweetness, rather some old walnuts, some leather, some dried meat, and touches of truffles. Tobacco, more leather, soy sauce… With water: tobacco, autumn leaves, mud, a wee touch of manure… Mouth (neat): rich, a tad sweeter, with hints of rubber at first, then pepper and cumin, walnut skins, bitter marmalade, pepper… With water: gets softer but these leaves remain there. Eating grass (while playing rugby, ha). Finish: long, always a tad bitter. Bitter oranges, walnuts, juniper berries… Comments: some kind of bittersweet Arran. Nice variation. SGP:461 - 80 points.

Arran 18 yo 1997/2016 (54.3%, OB, for Limburg Whisky Fair 2016, sherry hogshead, cask #913, 225 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: a cleaner one again, soft, easier, on raisins and shortbread, brioche, biscuits, all that. After that, more floral notes and a bit of sour apple. With water: ale and cider. Mouth (neat): really all on orange liqueur, marmalade, with drops of agave syrup and gritty/sour apples again. That creates a rather perfect balance. With water: ale and cider, once again, then orange blossom water and chamomile tea. There ‘s always a pleasant greenness in the background, which keeps it on the rails. Finish: medium, fresh, with a few hints of ripe bananas. Which is not uncommon in Arran, if I remember well. Comments: easy, classic, irrefutable. Just not astoundingly complex. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Arran 5 yo 2011/2017 (52.1%, OB, for Limburg Whisky Fair 2017, bourbon barrel, cask #1835, 285 bottles)

This one was made out of some heavily peated malt (50ppm). And given that we’re really not far from Islay… (but then again, the young peated Juras have been hit or miss, with some high hits though). Colour: pale white wine. Nose: I don’t know. Reminds me of the first very young peated Benriachs or Tomintouls, it’s as if they couldn’t get rid of the pears. On the other hand, these notes of old toolboxes are pleasant. Keywords smoked pears. So far. With water: mud, ink, raw peated barley. No more pears. Mouth (neat): I think this it too young, flavours didn’t have enough time to mingle together. A curious feeling of smoked pineapples this time, with a lot of green pepper. Syrup. With water: nice fruitiness this time. Ripe kiwis? Good vanilla, syrup, and less peat. Water helps. Finish: medium, fruity, with more ashes in the aftertaste. Comments: really fine, but too young for me. The 50ppm don’t feel much – not that we need them, eh. SGP:645 - 79 points.

Arran 5 yo 2011/2017 (52.8%, OB, for Limburg Whisky Fair 2017, bourbon barrel, cask #1862, 284 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: amazing, there’s a lot more happening in this one. Sauerkraut, Sancerre, asparagus, smoked fish, wine vinegar, mud, damp gravel, clay… This, I like mucho! With water: perfect, green coffee, more mud, damp clay, cigars… Mouth (neat): what a difference a barrel makes… This has much more oomph, and although it’s quite fruity too (more on the tropical side), it’s also got more fine herbs, mint, dill, anise, tequila… With water: smoky tangerines, does that exist? Finish: medium, clean, on herb and fruit syrups, smoked grass (not figuratively)… Comments: ex-mezcal cask? No, I guess that wouldn’t be ‘traditional’ enough. And they don’t use a lot of oak for mezcal… But I find it extraordinary that two similar very young casks, probably filled on the very same day, would be this different after just 5 years. SGP:556 - 89 points.

And the one for the road…

Arran 1995/2016 (50.4%, OB, for La Maison du Whisky’s 60th Anniversary, sherry hogshead, cask #211, 331 bottles)

The 1995s are rare. Could this be one of the oldest Arrans ever? Colour: deep gold. Nose: ah, active oak! You could almost believe this is Amrut, honestly. Bananas, mangos, custard, acacia honey, sandalwood, chamomile tea, orange blossom, honeysuckle, cigarette tobacco (say Benson & Hedges Gold – nosed my sister in law’s pack very recently - with the most honourable intentions). With water: perhaps a little oak, pencil shavings, sawdust, joiner's workshop… well I’m sure you get the idea. Mouth (neat): fantastic. Limoncello and coffee, cappuccino, old Grand-Marnier, Mandarine Impériale, crunchy peanut butter… With water: once again, the oak comes out and gives this lovely baby an obvious bourbony side. Finish: medium, creamy, on bananas covered with liquid praline. Comments: don’t use water on this one, and it’ll remain absolutely fantastic. At 50.4%, it doesn’t really need water anyway, officer. SGP:651 - 89 points.

We’ve got more Arrans but that wouldn’t be reasonable. See you tomorrow.

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