Review by: The Muskox
I definitely would have picked this dram for my 500th review, but I have something even more personal planned. Arran is one of my favourite distilleries, so I was particularly keen to try their latest standard release. Young, cask strength, and matured in first-fill sherry? Sign me up! I’ve even come around to the new labels.
Distillery: Arran.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Islands (Isle of Arran).
ABV: 55.8%. Cask strength.
Age: There’s no age statement on the label, but the distillery reports that this first releasehas been aged 7 years.
Cask type: First-fill sherry hogsheads.
Price: $88 CAD.
Color: Amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Sweet and rich. Raisins, craisins, figs, orange zest, candied pineapple, and plums. All the sugary notes: honeycomb, caramels, brown sugar, maple, and toasted barley. Ginger, clove, cardamom, and cocoa powder. A hint of earth, worn leather, mushrooms, cedar, and some fragrant dry pine needles. A hot summer day in the woods.
A dribble of water brings out additional notes of mango, orange, and milk chocolate cherry cordials.
Palate: Medium-thick texture. Sweet and malty up front, with sherry fruit and crystallized pineapple. Sweet wood, malt, and plush spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. The malt gets nuttier and earthier in the middle, with a hint of something savoury going on. Some toasted sesame oil and hoisin sauce. Strong black tea and toasted oak in the middle. Wax, furniture polish, and just a hint of sea salt.
The water makes the texture oilier and calms the oak a bit, but weakens the fruit.
Finish: Medium-length, fairly dry. Mixed forest berries and black cherries, covered in dark chocolate. Dripping honey, maple-butter-topped butter tarts, sponge toffee, and gingerbread. Bergamot and sandalwood. Another hint of sea salt.
I love it! It’s got all the waxy, tropical, fragrant, and foresty qualities I get from my favourite Arrans, along with a whole heap of chewy sherry cask influence. It’s quite Clynelish-y in that sense, which is a good thing. It’s maybe just a tiny bit heavy on the tannins, but that doesn’t bother me so much in this case. It compares very favourably with other young, cask-strength sherry bombs, such as Aberlour A’Bunadh, GlenDronach Cask Strength, and Tamdhu Batch Strength. I have the sneaking suspicion that my bottle will disappear rather quickly…
Final Score: 88.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 