Kategoriarkiv: Arran Malt

Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt 12 YO Cask Strength Batch 4

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ABV: 53.2 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a vanilla heavy sweetness with oak and honey sitting on top of a quite powerful and thick center part with a lemon backdrop. There’s a nice harmony between everything and it’s very well balanced. After a few seconds a nail polish remover note creeps up from behind. There are notes of coconut and green fruits as well, which mainly resides out on the edges of the glass. This is a great nose which really accentuates the Arran house style.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild honey sweetness. This lasts for about a second before a big hit of everything arrives. It’s a malty mix of lemons, oranges, honey, sweet liquorice with a dusty coating. It’s quite spicy and powerful which adds to the experience. The oakiness peeks through every once in a while. A tiny amount of a black coffee and almond bitterness starts to shine through After a while as well as some milk chocolate.

Finish: The transition is warm and spicy. It’s a slow increase not a spike and it lasts for a long time. The continuation of flavours is logical and the balance between sweet and sour is superb. There are some baking spices popping up somewhere along the way which is a very nice surprise. It’s a very long and rewarding finish and it takes a while before the oakiness starts to take over. It’s a nice oakiness with a touch of assorted nuts within. This is an amazing whisky with a lot to offer to both the drinker and the explorer. It’s extremely well balanced and delivers very approachable flavours.

Additional information
This whisky was bottled in 09/14. Cask type is not stated. 15 000 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran 10 YO

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a nice and rich honey, malt and vanilla layer up front with sour lemons and oranges underneath. There’s a nice top note of a fresh cooling mint even though the whole thing comes through as dense and slightly dusty. It’s very complex and the background is made up by several notes like charcoal, sour dough bread and a hint of iodine. This is a fantastic nose with a lot of things to discover. It feels very homogenous even though there are a lot of things floating around within.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet honey and vanilla mix in the center with the citrus fruits residing out on the edges. It’s still malty and textured and the sweet and sour contrast works together and makes it both dense and refreshing at the same time. The complex mix of flavours are still found within. Charcoal, salt and sour dough bread especially. The oakiness starts to make itself known at this point and adds another dimension to the array of flavours.

Finish: The transition seems very logical and everything sort of melts together and after a second or two it creates a lemon and honey cake. It’s got a dessert-like quality to it. It’s still a bit dusty and there’s still a bit of charcoal left behind. The oakiness adds some tropical fruit notes on top as well as a dry, yet fresh, oaky layer in the background. When most of the flavours starts to fade out the oak, the sour lemon and the tropical fruits stay behind. This is a fantastic whisky with an almost perfect balance between contrasting flavours and sensations.

Additional information
This 10 YO is part of the Arran core range. There’s no information to be found about the cask type(s). It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran Amarone Cask Finish

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and sweet. At first there’s a honey and vanilla sweetness with a dark fruitiness sitting just behind. There’s a mix of sugared blackberries, black grapes and a twist of lemon. On top there’s a cloud of mild menthol. With time in the glass it becomes a bit sweeter with toffee and a hard to pinpoint floral note floating around in the back. It continuously changes but never strays from the main path. This is a great nose with a lot of things to Discover.

Mouth: It starts out with a big hit of honey sweetness and dark berries. It’s very rich and textured from the get-go. There’s also a bitter lemon note as well as a gritty layer in the back with notes of wood, sulfur and rubber. After a while there’s a tropical fruitiness emerging from the back which slowly moves towards the center. There’s a complexity to the whole thing and it feels very three-dimensional. All of the sensations are coming through to a various degree.

Finish: The finish starts out with the red wine dark fruitiness in the back and it sort of grows bigger and bigger in a forward motion. The sweetness ,the menthol and a sprinkle of dusty earth notes come through as well. It takes a few seconds before the gritty notes and the tropical fruitiness once again join in. The bitter lemon is still residing in the back. The oakiness arrives late and never takes over. It just seem to create another layer of complexity. This is a fantastic whisky with an array of complex flavours floating around.

Additional information
This is part of the Arran Wine Cask Finish series. It’s aged for around 8 years in traditional ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in Amarone red wine casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran Small Batch – Heavily Peated Sherry Casks

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 3
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and peat. At first there’s a layer of sweet dark fruits with raisins, overripe plums and coffee liqeuer. On top lies a thin fresh oakiness and underneath lies a peat note and a sweet and sour mix of fresher fruits. Soon the peat starts to merge with the dark fruits and it’s creating tobacco and leather notes within. When it’s settled it becomes sweeter and vanilla and honey are added to the mix. This is a great nose. It’s young and lively but offers a pretty good balance between the flavour components.

Mouth: It starts out with a sour note in the back and a dark fruits and coffee mix up front. It’s quite spicy from the start. It hasn’t got a sweet character. The peat is creating a somewhat weird layer around the edges together with the sour note, which now is coming through as bitter lemon peel. It’s a lot brighter compared to the nose and the Arran house style shines through clearly. There’s a lot of sensations peaking at the same time and it’s a bit hard to navigate through it.

Finish: The spicyness flare up through the transition while the sweet vanilla and dark fruits move towards the edges. Left in the middle is a mix of fresher assorted fruits and sour bitter lemon. The peat is in there as well but it’s not the main attraction. A savory note pops up in the back together with the oakiness. It’s a very fresh and uninteresting oak which lacks a bit of character. This is a very good whisky but it lacks a bit of structure and balance. It’s just a big pile of flavours stacked upon each other. It still makes it a great experience overall.

Additional information
This whisky is a Sweden exclusive release. It’s aged for at least 7 years in heavily saturated ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s nicknamed ”The Crazy Swede”. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran Port Cask Finish

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there are assorted dark red berries and vanilla along with a thin cooling mint layer on top. Underneath lies a subtle but nice earthy layer of dry soil and herbs. There are also a honey and liquorice sweetness somewhere in between. Both increase in intensity over time and it ends up quite sweet. This is a fantastic nose which feels like it’s gentle but extremely volyminous when it’s allowed to open up in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out with a heavy impact of dark fruits and berries together with honey sweetness. A peppery spicyness accompanies it as well as a quite gritty and roudy background with a mix of very dark and ripe fruits, anise and a hint of sulfur, oil and soil. There’s also a hint of dust and dried fruits floating around. A light and floral note is in the as well. It feels very rich and has a nice texture. The flavour impact is impressive.

Finish: It starts out peppery with an even mix of sweetness, dark fruits and the earthy and dirty notes. The impact is immediate. It’s not as sweet as before but there’s now room for additional dried fruits like raisins and nectarines. A hint of lemon peeks through as well. Everything seem intertwined with the dark ripe berries to create a very nice whole. The oak makes a nice entrance from back to front and it’s a very potent oakiness with walnuts, mild coffee and even a sort of savory note on the tail end. This is just a fantastic whisky.

Additional information
This is part of the Arran’s range of wine finishes. It’s aged in refill casks for 8 years then finished in ex-port pipes. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran Malt, Islands

Arran Sherry Cask – The Bodega

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ABV: 55,8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and sweet. At first there’s a thick layer of dark, ripe fruits. There are raisins, overripe plums and dried apricots. It’s very aromatic and there are bakning spices as well as a mild menthol sitting on top of the main flavours. There’s a sweet side to it with brown sugar and vanilla, but the sweetness is mostly coming from the fruits. The background brings a brighter, tropical fruitiness and some apple juice. There’s also a hint of sulfur in the back. This is a sherry bomb and it’s quite fantastic on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out very sweet and dark. Immediatly there’s a black coffee bitterness with the dark fruits close behind. It’s high ABV spicy and it’s quite rich and oily. After a few seconds a dark chocolate note builds up. The tropical fruitiness is not present at this point, but the powerful sherry notes are surpressing most of the other flavours. It’s somewhat astringent and the oakiness is peeking through every once in a while.

Finish: The dark fruits, dark chocolate and black coffee notes start to move towards the edges as soon as the finish starts. This leaves room for vanilla, oak and dried assorted tropical fruits to appear in the center. The sweetness is still sugary with a hint of vanilla. The menthol cloud returns and stays all the way through the finish. The oakiness gains momentum after a few seconds and it’s a dry, slightly nutty oak. This is a fantastic whisky within the sherry bomb category and it’s really well made. Even though it lacks an age statement it doesn’t present itself as young and undermatured.

Additional information
This is part of The Arran Malt’s core range. It’s aged in ex-sherry hogsheads and is presented in natural cask strength. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe Wine Cask Finish (2008 Vintage)

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and sweet. At first there’s a mix of red ripe grapes and ripe plums with a fresher blueberry note attached. There’s also vanilla mixed with a sweet and sour maltiness. The fruitiness sort of releases the fresher parts which after a while start to float on top. Underneath everything else there’s a black coffee bitterness and a smidge of milk chocolate. The vanilla moves out on the edges and leaves room for even more fresher fruits with a fleeting glimpse of peaches and mangoes somewhere on top. This is a nice nose. It’s not as well balanced and appealing as other Arrans tends to be though.

Mouth: It starts out with a lemon sourness in the back and a big peppery impact coming from the high ABV. It’s dusty and there’s a dark fruitiness and black coffee spreading out over the palate. There’s no sweetness and it’s a very hard to access arrange of flavours. There’s a nutty oakiness peeking through and the milk chocolate has turned into a bitter dark chocolate. After a while the sweet and sour Arran house style shines through which really makes the experience a lot better.

Finish: The transition is slightly weird, where the spicyness somewhat increases in intensity but the rest is just a mess of flavours which sort of brings out a strange funky taste. It’s quite spirity at this point as well. When all the weirdness subsides there are notes of toffee, ripe fruits and a slightly nutty oakiness with coffee and walnuts. It just feels a bit too bitter and unbalanced. This is a good whisky, but it really doesn’t measure up to the normal quality of Arran Single malts.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 8 years and then finished in grand cru wine casks for 12 months. 6636 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran 1998 (Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur’s Choice)

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2007 which makes it ~ 9 YO. It’s aged in refill ex-sherry hogsheads.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran 15 YO Rare Batch – French Oak: Bordeaux

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ABV: 52.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a menthol layer sitting on top of a sweet and fruity layer which consists of vanilla and liqeuer-soaked red berries. In the background there’s a small, dark and gritty complexity which consists of raisins, oil and just a hint of sulfur. When it settles it becomes sweeter and slightly sour. The lemon note can be found as a part of the center and in the back. The whole thing is a bit laid back and doesn’t pop out of the glass, but it still comes through as quite easy to access. This is a great nose with a little bit of everything nicely put in its place.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet shell of coconut and vanilla. It’s a big contrast between the richness of the nose compared to the initial impact in the mouth. It’s immidiately rich and complex and there’s too much going on to really describe what’s happening. There’s a mix of fresh fruits, lemon, dark fruits and everything sits in a nice, floral vanilla and lemon center part. There’s also the oily and gritty note within, as well as notes of age, like dust, old wood and leather. It almost feels slightly smoky as well. It’s just an absolutely amazing experience at this point.

Finish: At the start of the transition the dusty notes move first and take seat on top. There’s a surge of spicyness which for the first time reveals its high ABV. It does hide some of the other flavours for a while before it starts to fade. The coconut is still in there and sits together with the dust and the floral notes on top of everything else. The center part is very sweet and fruity but it’s now moving towards the sour lemon note. The finish is long and it sort of sits in this manner for a good while without any changes. When it finally fades it reveals a slightly bitter and dry oakiness which feels slightly underwhelming. This is a great whisky with a fantastic middle part of the journey. It’s an explorer’s dram through and through.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in french oak casks which previously held red wine from The mêdoc region north of Bordeaux. 2580 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

Arran 15 YO Rare Batch – French Oak: Argonne

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ABV: 53.5 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spicy. At first there’s a spicy layer floating on top of a very sweet mix of vanilla, sweet liquorice, honey and dark fruits. It’s a very rich center part and it’s almost sticky sweet. There’s a complex note floating around somewhere in the back which seems to come from the wine casks. There are some blueberry notes attached to it. It takes a long time for it to settle in the glass and when it does there are floral notes floating up to the surface as well as cinnamon and lemon. This is a very nice nose which feels slightly secretive on what to expect of the rest of the journey.

Mouth: It starts out with a very sweet initial impact. The ABV spicyness comes through quite fast and almost immidiately balances out the sweetness. There are notes of old bookshelves in the background with a speck of dust on top. It’s dry and astringent at this point. After a few seconds there’s a sour lemon note revealing itself in the background which really helps it along and makes it a lot more interesting. The fruitiness now feels a bit more fresh and bright than on the nose but it still feels a bit toned down.

Finish: The start of the finish brings all kinds of fresh fruits with mango, pineapple, lemon as well as blueberries and red berries. There are floral notes on top and the lemon note is residing in the background. There are vanilla and honey notes and the book shelves are still in there. When all the sweet flavours start to fade a sprinkle of salt, cinnamon and a very nice oakiness start to take over. It’s a slightly nutty and astringent oak and it fits the other flavours very well. This is a great whisky with a lot to offer, yet it somehow feels like a slightly incomplete experience.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in french oak casks which previously held still wine from Argonne. 3060 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt The Devil’s Punch bowl Chapter II: Angels and Devils

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ABV: 53.1 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet, sour and slightly peaty. At first there’s a mix of honey and vanilla sitting on top of a base of sour candy, raisins, raspberries and a gritty note with peat mixed into it. On top a mix of nail polish remover and menthol is floating around. After a while the vanilla and a malty note increase in intensity, and so do the sherry notes, which adds butterscotch and strawberries. This makes the peatiness move out towards the edges and a chance for the oak to peek through. This is a great and complex nose which retains the Arran house style very well even though it has some unique and strong flavours from the casks.

Mouth: It starts out very sweet with vanilla, coconut and honey, but the sour side isn’t far behind. There’s a tropical fruit basket arriving in the back while a nice black pepper spicyness spreads out over the palate. In between there’s a fresh red fruitiness and some baking spices, butterscotch and malt. It’s got a quite savory background note and a slightly salty overtone. It feels very balanced and the different sensations goes well together. The oakiness is present throughout.

Finish: The sweet and sour notes really push through and takes the tropical fruitiness along. There are cinnamon and oak around the edges and there’s a speck of dust somewhere within. The peatiness is nowhere to be found at this point. When it settles the sherry notes once again come through and they’re pushed back a bit and have more of the fresh berries than the butterscotch now. The finish is long and extremely rewarding. The oakiness shows up together with the peat. It’s an aromatic oakiness with hazelnuts which feels attached to the cinnamon note and the tropical fruits. The peat is nicely balanced to add to the mix instead of taking over. This is an amazing whisky with too many flavours, sensations and small notes to describe them all.

Additional information
This whisky is a vatting of 27 casks (17 sherry hogsheads and 10 ex-bourbon barrels. The different casks holds whiskies, both peated and unpeated, distilled between 1994 and 2004. It was bottled 2013. 6660 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt Finished in a Rum Cask

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ABV: 57.6 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spicy. At first there’s a layer of vanilla, coconut and sweet fruits underneath a cloud of nail polish remover. When it settles it becomes sweeter and fruitier as well as a bit more acidic. It feels young and vibrant. It takes a while in the glass before it reaches its full potential and when it does, there’s a nice complexity in the back and a nice balance between sweet and sour in the center. At this point the sherry fruitiness, with liqueuer-soaked red berries as its main feature, is creating a thin outside layer towards the edges of the glass. This is a great nose when given time to open up.

Mouth: It starts out with a mix of sweet and dusty vanilla, coconut and a nice powerful, yet pleasant, spicyness. It’s acidic overall and has a lemon sourness which contrasts the sweet flavours. The sherry notes are somewhat subdued and resides in the background together with the sour notes and an elusive cinnamon note. There’s also a small bitterness floating around. It’s not the most interesting development and it feels like the different components compete for attention instead of adding to the whole.

Finish: The transition is very logical. The sweetness increase in intensity as well as the spicyness. It’s not spikes, it’s more of a slow increase. The fruitiness then arrives around the edges and it’s a general fruitiness without any specific recognizable sorts. It still feels more like a fight between components than a cohesive character. The bitterness is still in there and it slowly turns into walnuts. The late finish is a very nutty and frankly amazing oakiness and becomes the best part of the journey. This is a very good whisky, but it feels a bit over-engineered.

Additional information
This is a single cask release. It was aged in an ex-sherry cask and then finished in a rum cask and bottled in 2004. The bottle reviewed has no. 96/260. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a thin sweet layer of honey and vanilla. Underneath there’s a lemon sitting side by side to a savory note. It feels young and lively without being ethanol driven and metallic. Over time the sweet and sour notes seem to merge but the lemon sourness is dominating. The savory note stays in the background. A liquorice note slowly arrives around the edges and an oakiness creates a thin top note. This is a nice and straight forward nose. It’s a bit too mild it feels a bit unbalanced.

Mouth: It starts out very mild and sweet and first out is a rather flat vanilla note. After a second or two the sour note arrives but it stays in the back. There’s a lot of the distillate coming through. There’s a spicyness, yet extremely mild, coming from a the oakiness, which sits in the center together with a now more rich vanilla and a slight dustiness. It feels a bit uninteresting at this point.

Finish: The oak steps forward early in the transition and the sour lemon note steps forward from the start. It’s dusty and sweet with the honey and vanilla. It’s still mild and it never really takes off. The oak spices are still in there though. When the oakiness takes over it reveals a fresh woodshop oakiness. It’s slightly astringent but mostly it comes through as a generic oak note. This is a good whisky but it is a bit too mild and unbalanced to be really interesting.

Additional information
There is not much information to be found about this whisky. It’s an older NAS release from the distillery. It has natural colour.

Arran, Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt Non-Chillfiltered

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a sweet layer of malt, honey and vanilla wrapped around a sour green apple and lemon core. There are hints of gooseberries in there as well. It feels young and fresh without being ethanol driven or metallic. When it settles there are notes of freshly cut grass and vanilla cream added to the whole. It’s a lemony dessert which feels well balanced between the sensations. A hint of sweet liquorice and a mild oakiness are detectable as well. This is a great nose. It’s not complex, but really pleasant.

Mouth: It starts out with a hit of lemon in the back together with a mild spicyness and a slightly bitter note. The sweetness then arrives and makes it quite rich. There are still notes of honey, vanilla and liquorice. The fruitiness is mostly citrus fruits at this point and it’s slightly subdued by the sweetness. It doesn’t feel young and there are signs of time spent in the casks. It’s a slightly dusty dessert-like character which feels very balanced and poised.

Finish: The spicyness mellows out and a fruit explosion ensues. There’s citrus fruits, tropical fruits and gooseberries in spades and it’s a very nice surprise, yet it feels quite logical. The sweetness moves out towards the sides and it just seems to grow the further down the road it goes. When the oakiness arrives it seems to amplify the fruitiness even further and when it finally gets to shine it manages to produce a fantastic nuttiness with mainly hazelnuts. This is a fantastic whisky which just gives more and more the longer it goes. There’s not a lot of complexity but it’s just absolutely delicious.

Additional information
There is not much information to be found about this whisky. It’s an older NAS release from the distillery. It’s unchillfiltered has natural colour.

Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt 21 YO – The Explorer’s Series Volume 2: Lochranza Castle

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ABV: 47,2 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a thick layer of honey and dark fruits. There are raisins and overripe plums, but also a layer of dried apricots. There’s a nice balance between the sweetness and the fruitiness. After a few seconds in the glass there are notes of vanilla starting to come through as well as a maltiness. There’s a complexity to it and fleeting notes of leather and tobacco are found in the background. It feels very three-dimensional. This is a very nice nose with a lot to offer.

Mouth: It starts out with a subdued lemon sourness and a sweet honey top layer. The fruitiness is a lot brighter and the darker fruit notes move into the background. There’s a black coffee note somewhere in between and there’s a dusty leather note in there as well. With time it turns darker and at one point it feels like there’s a creamy coffee liqueuer within. There’s also vanilla, sweet liquorice and just a tiny whiff of smoke.

Finish: It starts out with a layer of the dark sherry notes in the back. It takes a second or two for the front layer to appear but when it does, it reveals the same notes once again with coffee, fruits, leather and, once it settles, a nice oakiness. The oak seems to be in balance, it’s present, but it doesn’t overpower the rest of the finish which makes it a long and very rewarding experience. The oakiness is dusty with a hint of hazelnuts and there’s still a whiff of smoke. This is a fantastic whisky. It’s well balanced and full of flavour.

Additional information
This is the second release in the Explorer series. It’s limited to 9000 bottles worldwide. It has been aged in ex-sherry hogsheads and finished in ex-Amontadillo sherry casks from Bodegas Tradicion. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt 18 YO

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and lemon fresh. There’s a very nice and thick layer of vanilla, caramel, honey and sweet liquorice and it’s intertwined with lemons and oranges. A hint of fresh oak comes through from the back together with a sprinkle of sea salt. There’s a white chocolate note appearing after some time in the glass. This is very rich and full bodied.

Mouth: A squeeze of lemon passes by before a black pepper spicyness takes over. It’s not as sweet as on the nose but it’s still very rich. The lemon note comes back together with malt, sweet liquorice and some caramel. It comes off as a bit dry and dusty. The lemon note is now leaning more towards the zest with a bitter tang to it. The oranges are gone. In the background a hint of the oak is coming through together with white chocolate.

Finish: At first, black pepper and lemon is creating a cloud that takes up the entire space. It takes a second or two before the other flavours make themselves known. There are vanilla, honey and caramel notes as well as an oakiness building up. It’s a very nice fresh oakiness with a hint of hazelnuts and a hint of chalk. In the late finish it finally shows some age with a row of dusty old books. This is an extremely well made and very tasty whisky.

Additional information
This is part of The Arran Malt’s core range and it’s aged in both american ex-bourbon barrels and european ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt 12 YO – Master of Distilling II The Man With The Golden Glass

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ABV: 51.8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and sweet liquorice. A veil of menthol surrounds everything at first. When it’s lifted the dark fruitiness appears. It’s a two-layered fruitiness with raisins, overripe black grapes and plums on top and a brighter layer with ripe apples and a hint of lemon underneath. The longer it stays in the glass the more a sweet liquorice note takes over. The background consists of a solid backdrop of vanilla, honey and a hint of oak. This is a very pleasant nose.

Mouth: The impact is very immidiate and the mouth fills with menthol and dark fruits. The sweet liquorice is still in there and the background still contains vanilla and honey notes. After a few seconds the fruitiness sort of makes a full 180 and becomes a lot brighter with lemon, oranges and grapefruit. There’s a speck of dust on top and it’s already a touch astringent.

Finish: The high ABV makes the menthol become really pronounced at first. When it settles it reveals a fruitiness that is even brighter than before. Even though the dark fruitiness still can be found, it’s now leaning heavily towards tropical juice with pineapples, mangos and oranges. There’s still a lemon sourness peeking through. The oak comes through quite clear, and it’s a very nutty oakiness. There’s a big hazelnut flavour and the late finish is absolutely fantastic. This is an amazing whisky.

Additional information
This expression comes from casks filled in 2006. The cask type for the first maturation period isn’t disclosed. It’s then finished in european ex-Palo Cortado sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour. It’s limited to 12 000 bottles worldwide.

Arran Malt, Islands

The Arran Malt 10 YO – Master of Distilling Jim McTaggart’s 10th Anniversary Limited Edition

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ABV: 54.2 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is rich honey sweetness and vanilla with a minty overlay. Black liquorice and a hint of anise create depth and adds to the sweetness. A brighter fruitiness is hiding in the background. It’s quite hard to break it down but there’s some green apples and a hint of lemon. The cask influence is amazing.

Mouth: Dense sweetness and black liquorice. The high ABV creates a layer of spicy chili pepper and it comes rushing in quite fast. It rests on a base of vanilla and honey and a hint of tropical fruitiness with pineapples and lemon zest shine through. A discreet savory note sits in the back. A small note of bitterness comes through. It’s dusty and the texture is oily and thick.

Finish: First comes a spicy kick, then a chalk note. The sweetness and black liquorice return together with the tropical fruitiness. The oak comes fashionably late. It’s a very pleasant oakiness, just a smidge dry and without astringency. There’s hazelnuts coming through in the late finish. This is an absolutely fantastic whisky.

Additional information
This whisky comes from the first casks filled by James McTaggart when he started working at the Arran distillery in 2007. It’s matured in first fill american ex-bourbon oak barrels. It’s a limited edition with just 12 000 bottles released worldwide.