Review by: zSolaris
Distillery: Arran/Lochranza.
Region: Island.
Age: NAS. WhiskyBase reviews comment that it is rumored to be a 4 year old
ABV: 43.0%
Price: $15 for a pour at Dundee Dell in Omaha, NE.
Color: 0.2, Pale Straw. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: It’s fairly intense even for a 43%-er. There’s a ton of tropical fruits packed in here. I couldn’t pick any out specifically but there was a bunch of it along side a little bit of malt barley coming through.
Palate: Fairly simplistic. Pineapples were the main note along with a spritz of lemon. Some of the malt comes through nicely as well..
Finish: Medium in length. The tropical fruit mix is what lingers most.
Conclusion: The other weekend we went to celebrate the return of Omaha’s spiritual home of Scotch whisky, the Dundee Dell. Gone is the dive bar though, it’s been replaced with a gastropub with a dedicated whisky bar attached. Speaking with the new owner, most of the collection that made the Dell so special seems to have grown legs and walked off since the closure (though he did mention that there were about 200 bottles in the basement they were still working through) which while not a surprise, was still sad to hear. Tucked in the corner of one of this shelves though was this bottle of Arran, one of it’s earlier bottlings. While simplistic, it is very much identifiable as an Arran with tons of tropical fruit notes all over the place. This nice little glimpse into the past was fun and I’m very glad to have been able to try it.
Final Score: 77
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 
