Tasting 6 Arrans with friends of WI society

I’ve reviewed only a few arrans until now on the blog (mostly special releases), and was very keen on expanding my experience and getting to know more of the Arran line-up. It’s always nicer tasting malts in company, so I popped over to Richard’s where we were to meet with Shai and drink a few wee drams by Arran. I provided the samples (kindly sent to me by Andy, Thanks you very much!) and Richard provided the lovely hospitality with a table loaded with food (Thank you Rich!). Shai was kind enough to bring one of his Arran bottles (the IB Old malt cask 11 yo) to complete a line-up of 7 Arrans. Not bad!

We set up to taste all 7 , then we were also thinking of adding 3 SA whiskies to the party, but that will be the topic for a separate post. Prior to starting the session i posted a status on FB about our evening that was just starting, and got a reply from a dear whisky friend : Steffen Brauner of Denmark (owner of the Danish Whisky blog), who told me he had all and liked one in particular. He also asked if i would be able to spot which one… With this in mind we began our tasting session.

 

Arran 10 year old , 46% ABV, £41

Nose: Some sherry notes,sweet and chewy,Cherries and vanilla, and some biscuits. On the sweeter side, and very nice.

Palate: Sweet with an alcohol kick on the start, malty, and very dough like, some wood also.

Finish: Short, with bitter wood.

Score: 78/100

Arran Sauternes Cask, 50% ABV, NAS

Nose: Heavy stuff, very winey and tannins running like mad, then some old dusty books. weird.

Palate: Sweet, fruity, tannic, with a lot of apricot. Water does not become of it.

Finish: Short and sweet. A bit of fruit, and the wine effect is very strong.

Score: 80/100

Arran Amarone Cask, 50% ABV, NAS

Nose: Not so sweet as i was expecting, some turnips, cocoa powder and cranberries.

Palate: Full of tannins, this one, raging tannins. a bit on the bitter side, and ending on bitter chocolate.

Finish: Chocolaty (bitter) and bitter almonds.

Score: 80/100

Arran Port Cask, 50% ABV, NAS

Nose: Very sweet nose, a bit more woody and must than the previous two. With water: quite a bit of cinnamon emerges. which is nice.

Palate: Spicy, sugary with a lot of dried fruit and cinnamon.

Finish: Milk Chocolate, and ending a bit woody.

Score: 81/100

 

All i can say it that those NAS finished Arrans were not polished enough, and their tender age, showed. I would have loved to see them spend a few additional years in the cask. It would have changed them for the better, that i am sure of…

 

At this time we were hoping for something a bit more integrated, and the Arran 14 was just that!

Arran 14 yo, 46% ABV,£40

This one was finished in fresh bourbon and sherry hogsheads for two  years before it was bottled. The result is a sweet and fruity dram. Now for the notes:

Nose: Tropical fruits galore, strong balsamic on teh nose too. After 5 minutes of letting it rest in the glass, all that balsamic is gone, and we get some lovely apples, barley, wood. Wonderful nose,. the best nose yet! (this evening). we like!

Palate: Sweet and lovely : Vanilla, apples, spice, white pepper.

Finish: Medium. Biscuity, and sugary, with spices. Lovely

Bottom line:

Now we’re getting there, a lovely malt from arran. Well made, terrific nose and palate, and a great finish.Classic stuff. this shows great promise for older Arrans.

Score: 85/100

Arran Machrie Moor Peated,46% ABV, NAS, £50(Sold Out)

So, this one is the first Peated Arran released. Now peat being a sexy and very popular profile these days, this one sold like hot buns. It’s peated to 14 ppm, and was limited to 9000 btls.

Nose: Sweet peat, almost new make-ish,pear drops, and some apples.

Palate: Peat and smoke, some fruitiness and sweet maltiness. not very complex.

Finish: Smoke, and sweet cereals.

Bottom line:

A very young not very polished dram. Medium peated, and showing a lot of early age characteristics. I’d like to try that one in a few year’s time, aging would do it well,complexity wise, and will make it more rounded.

Score: 73/100

Summing it up:

The Arran distillery is a young one, and shows great promise when it comes to older whiskies. The younger whiskies we’ve samplesd were nice, but the real star of the evening were the 14 year old OB. I’m sure that in a couple of years, when Arran realeases a 16 and 18 year old (and then even older ones as time goes by) ,those will be superb. We certainly have something to wait for.

 

As for Steffen question, it was fairly easy. We both liked the 14 year old… Steffen this is really a good one. As Steffen said : The arran is a whisky that will be great in 20 year’s time. A good reason to hang around and live until then !

 

Slainte!

Many thanks to Andy of the Arran whisky distillery for the official samples.