Review by: The Muskox

I’ve tried many an Arran in my whisky journey, and this is the oldest one yet. This might also be the quirkiest: after maturing at the distillery until 2012, two casks of Arran were purchased by PM Spirits and moved to their Cognac cellar in France to age in Cognac casks. Strangely, the casks didn’t actually rest in the cellar itself, but rather some kind of lobby area by the entrance. I wonder if this location helped to bring the ABV down to this rather low strength?

Because of this time spent aging outside of Scotland, this whisky technically can’t be called scotch. Additionally, there are a couple typos on the label – this whisky is actually 24 years old, not 23 as stated on the label, having been bottled a year late due to various delays. What a weirdo!

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Distillery: Arran.

Bottler: PM Spirits.

Region: Islands.

ABV: 46.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 24 years. Distilled February 14th 1996. Bottled in July 2020.

Cask type: Finish in two cognac casks, #96/089 and #96/090, for 8 years.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Beautiful fresh and fragrant fruit. Orange fruit – peach, mango, passionfruit, tangerine. Yellowish fruit notes of banana and golden raisins. A hint of leather and toasted walnuts. Japanese green tea. As it rests, intense flowers and some fresh-baked buttered bread emerge. Slightly dusty.

Palate: Creamy texture. Coconut and vanilla, rich honeycomb and banana. Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Warm spice and toasted cream in the middle. Baked pita bread. A hint of raisin. Stronger green tea note, maybe now roasted into hojicha. Gingery and a touch minty. Supple leather and sandalwood. Other interesting lighter and vaguely grassy notes. Tropical fruits.

Finish: Long, off-sweet and creamy. Peach cobbler a la mode. Honeycomb. Banana. Coconut water. Floral, more potpourri-ish noted of dried rose petals. Lingering leather. Slightly bready-yeasty.

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Conclusion: Notes: A sublime bottling of Arran. All the characteristic Arran-y notes – the ginger, flowers, tropical fruit, maltiness – they’re all here, and amplified and enriched by the cognac casks. There’s a phenomenal elegance to this whisky, almost, dare I say, a smoothness. I’m trying to compare it to that Springbank Local Barley from the other day… it’s not as complex, but it’s much more refined. I think I love them about the same.

Final Score: 90.

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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.