Origin: Isle of Arran (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 49.6%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Additional Coloring: No
Owner: J& A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: €136.00
Official website: www.cadenhead.scot/
Vote: 82/100
Let’s get back to Cadenhead’s, of which we talked about in more detail in the first bottling reviewed on the blog, Glen Scotia.
I will have the opportunity to talk about their other products later on thanks to several samples that came into my possession (those who follow us on Instagram will already know them).
We’re still in the Authentic Collection series, made up of only single cask at full gradation, in this case a February 2019 bottling from a 1996 distillate.
So far, The Arran’s malts have never particularly impressed me, which is why I chose just such an independent bottling to try an alternative to ‘standard’ production.
And no, I guess I’m not changing my mind…
Tasting notes
Pale gold in the glass.
The nose is soft and light, of cereal, caramel, pineapple, green apple, maple syrup. A lot of fruit and a lot of sweetness, caressing.
The palate is warm and enveloping, a blanket of comforting caramel oiliness. Butter biscuits, ripe banana, Catalan cream, amaretto, more cereal (it almost seems younger), with the alcohol pushing a certain spiciness into the background, enlivening the whole. This is needed because it’s all very pleasant but a little static.
The finish is medium-long, of caramel, pineapple and cream.
A pleasant dram but without any great surprises, very balanced and combed: it’s easy to drink (a lot) despite the not exactly light alcohol content, but does not stand out.