Origin: Isle of Arran (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry refill and first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Lochranza Distillery
Average price: € 335.00
Official website: www.arranwhisky.com
Vote: 92/100
With one hundred, one hundred and fifty, two hundred and more years of history, twenty-five may not seem like much, but for a still proudly craft-based business like Arran it’s an important milestone.
Founded in 1995 by Harold Currie, the former managing director of Chivas Bros. and Campbell Distillers, at a time when it was easier for a distillery to close than to open, the Isle of Arran Distillery was quickly able to distinguish itself for the quality of its whiskies, soon winning the favour of even the most experienced drinkers.
Trained professionally in Speyside, Currie has imposed a style that closely resembles that of speysiders for its fruity fragrances, but in Lochranza, in the north of the island where the distillery is physically located, until 2017 a peated whisky was also bottled, the Arran Machrie Moor, of which a few examples are still available on the market. Until 2017, because in that year the Lagg Distillery opened its doors, by the same owner, this time in the south of the island, dedicated to the production of peated only.
So, in 2020, Arran celebrated 25 years in business with a whisky from the first casks filled in 1995, 65% ex-Bourbon and 35% ex-Sherry, with the last 12 months aged in hogshead ex sherry first fill and refill. The result is 3,000 bottles that are already difficult to find and at a very important price.
Thanks to the immense kindness of Whisky Italy, today we have the opportunity to taste it.
Tasting notes
The natural colour is bronze.
On the nose we find a whisky with clear ideas, capable of unleashing, on the theme of sweetness, a range of aromatic variations that follow one another without solution of continuity: white chocolate, hazelnut cream, praline almonds, meringues, and, on the fruity side, dates and figs, follow one another in a perfectly harmonious whirling circle. Butterscotch biscuits and cherries are also on the merry-go-round, enriching the profile. In the background, like a distant mirage, is the smoke of an unlit fireplace. After a few minutes of aeration, an unmistakable hint of toffee joins the game. And the tour begins again.
On the palate, a spicy opening of cloves is the prelude to a symphony of cherries, hazelnut and milk chocolate, with a hint of polished dark wood adding a note of austerity. The whole is punctuated by citrus touches of mandarin, while the finish leaves an impression of milk chocolate dusted with cloves in the mouth for a long, long time.
An exciting whisky, to be enjoyed calmly to savour every nuance, suggesting the image of a gentleman from another era, elegant in his bearing and distinguished in his manners, always friendly and smiling with everyone, able to entertain with an infinity of stories that you could listen to for hours.
Extraordinary.
Reviews of Arran whisky in the blog