Review by: Maltrunners
Raygun’s Introduction: Back again with another Taiwan purchase, this one an OB Arran single cask selected by and bottled for Heng Jiou, a favorite shop of mine. Tried a sample on a visit there and that persuaded me to get a bottle even though it was steep. Arran only started distilling in 1995, so this bottle was laid down in that first year. A bit of history.
Distillery: Arran
Bottler: Arran
Region/style: Islands single malt Scotch
ABV: 48.9%. Cask strength
Age: 25 years. Distilled on November 15, 1995. Bottled on February 11, 2021.
Cask type: Hogshead #230, 291 bottles.
Color: [0.5 yellow gold](https://maltrunners.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cil8ins.jpeg). Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Price: $350
***
The Group
Nose: Fruit was a common thread; no surprise with Arran. Citrus was mentioned the most–lemon, orange, and grapefruit–but peach/nectarine was also common. Some found florals or perfume. Dairy was another common note, presenting as cream or butterscotch. Numerous mentions of wood, which again doesn’t surprise at this age.
Palate: Fruit again. More citrus, and for some a tropical turn with pineapple, lychee, and apricot. Cream, butterscotch, caramel, or toffee appeared for almost everyone. Some pastry or bread notes showed up for about half of us, and sometimes nuts as well, pistachios or almonds. Some mentions of spice, but nothing too consistent.
Finish: More pastry notes showed up. Caramel, butterscotch, or toffee came up frequently. More mentions of citrus, and more wood and spice for most. The least consistency here and probably the most divisive part of the dram: one taster thought it was the best aspect and one the worst.
Conclusion: More divisive than the Linkwood for sure, and the highs weren’t as high. Appears that it took Arran a little time to work out the kinks: this is not something that appeals strongly to everyone. Given the high price, it’s tough to recommend for anyone but a die-hard Arran fan.
Average Score: 83.8 (78-88)
zSolaris
Nose: Starts off a lot more alcoholic than the ABV says it should be. Seems to do better with some time in the glass thankfully. Smells a bit of one of those perfume sample strips that’s been left out for a bit. Something that reminds me of laminated paper. leather polish. holding it a little further away from me and smelling gives off some dunnage warehouse smells. A bit of lemon as well.
Palate: Very Arran-y. It’s got a lot of the brighter fruit notes – lemon, lychee, golden kiwi. Towards the back half it turns into a bit more of a salted caramel note. A bit of water changes things up quite a bit. Liquid milk chocolate with some caramel, there’s a little bit of a baked dessert element to this too – Millionaires shortbread perhaps? Some baked banana notes pop in after a while as well – banana brownies?
Finish: Medium-to-short in length. bruleed bananas. A bit of overripe melon.
Final Score: 85
Ricebowl
Nose: fresh golden straw, tin pineapple juice and pulp, coconut, kiwi, plush overripe nectarine, mango skin, soft oak
Palate: hairy peaches, popsicle stick, banana sundae, flan sin syrup, overripe pineapple
Finish: chewed popsicle stick, Chinese incense, tin pineapple
Final Score: 84
TOModera
Nose: Musty, mineral, lemon zest, caramel. Very light.
Typical Arran flavours, citrus and musty. Water brings out mineral notes. I’m not getting a lot of complexity on the nose.
Palate: Sprite, toffee, brine, cloves, cream soda, pomelo.
A lot more to this on the taste. Very toffee forward. Also very sweet. But a lot better.
Finish: Toffee pudding, brine, pot pourri, cloves, wheat bread, oak.
Oh, you Bottled this for the finish. It tastes like sticky toffee pudding, floral, good cereal note.
Conclusion: Very rich, but sadly very standard Arran. The finish is very nice, but it comes off as too little too late. This plays around with toffee quite a bit. Also the finish loses some citrus and it felt disjoint. The nose is a write off. End of the day, it’s a fun mess. That said, it was distilled at the start of the distillery’s creation. The lack of polish is very evident.
Final Score: 81
BradboBaggins
Nose: Butterscotch, pistachio
Palate: Enters with grilled sweet apricot. Middle of spiced butterscotch. and buttered, toasted Wonderbread The close is silky, somewhat creamy, like a spiced pistachio pot de creme.
Finish: Hangs with that grippy wood spice, some butterscotch and pistachios, for long length.
Final Thoughts: This is, in a sense, a lot like its 23y cousin. Excellent balance, good flavors, pleasing spice, its a great dram, without being especially punchy in any way. Just quite enjoyable.
Final Score: 88
Raygun
Nose: Smells very fresh even after 25 years. Some characteristic Arran fruit, with apricot, peach, orange, and cream. Some biscuits—American, not British. Unmistakable old wood.
Palate: Brown sugar, iced tea. Apricot, orange, and peach, now with a hint of strawberry as well, and even some frangipane. Like a nice fruit tart. Some interesting spice character comes out that puts me in mind of tamarind chutney. Got that old wood flavor, sort of varnishy, which is an interesting counterpoint.
Finish: Gets a little buttery on the finish, like a scone. Fruit flavors are still very present and yes, that is definitely tamarind chutney. Orange creamsicle and iced tea, with that kind of tannic flavor. The oak doesn’t get too strong, but the old flavor amps up. It balances the old and fresh flavors very well.
Conclusion: I still think Arran does somewhat better in sherry, but when I tasted this at the shop, I thought it was the best bourbon cask Arran I’ve had. Bringing a bottle home hasn’t changed that opinion. Very Arran-like with the fresh fruit and biscuit/scone flavors. Manages to be fresh and old at the same time. I’m a fan.
Buy again? I like this a lot, but I can’t honestly say it’s worth $350. Would have to be in my top 10-20 ever to say that, and this isn’t at that level.
Final Score: 86
Whiskery Turnip
Nose: Soft maritime and citrus, dry wood, minerals, sweet florals, tropical, buttery pastries, hints of cream and herbal tea.
Palate: Medium-bodied, slightly oily, soft and mild, citrus, maritime, tropical fruits, pineapple, tropical florals, hints of bitter oak and earth.
Finish: Medium to long with dry oak, herbal tea, and tropical citrus.
Conclusion: Soft and maritime with gentle citrus, the aroma spoke to dried scrub brush on a seaside cliff as stone, mineral, and salt hung in the air the dry wood. Lime and lemon with a touch of pomelo opened the gateway to balmy iris and hibiscus with a floral turn. Taiwanese pineapple cakes, winter melon, and creamy butter lingered in the background with a touch of herbal tea. Medium-bodied and slightly oily, the flavors began soft and mild with citrus and maritime salt, before more tropical fruits and florals cranked the intensity with background layers of earth and oak. Lemons, limes, and bitter oranges arrived first with a gentle salty sea breeze that carried sweet notions of earth and minerals. A concentrated burst of tropical pineapple and passionfruit hit the center of the tongue while tropical hibiscus, plumeria, and iris bloomed on the side. Floral notions carried through as an occasionally bitter oak moved in toward the end. Absent the oak, more earth came into play. The finish was medium to long with dry oak, herbal tea, and tropical citrus.
Beautiful. So many of my favorite elements of Arran’s Lochranza distillery were present on this malt: tropical fruits, florals, and hints of earth. The flavors and mouthfeel were well-balanced with a good crescendo over time so that what started as a mild and mellow experience transformed— like a star going nova with citrusy pineapple and tangy passion fruit. Those notions lingered on the finish with a drying herbal quality that varied from tea, especially when paired with floral notes, to bitter oak. And oak note, which often came on the back end and sometimes lingered on the finish, was the only big weakness on this malt. Those notes do not always bother me that much, but this one felt a bit askew from the rest of the experience rather than a lovely bit of contrast. Overall, wonderful stuff from Arran.
Final Score: 85
Demi Tastes
Nose: Fruity: mandarins, kiwi, lemon zest, candied grapefruit. Floral and earthy like a greenhouse garden in bloom: perfume-like lilac, geranium, dryer sheets. Candied coconut. A hint of hand sanitizer.
Palate: Nicely viscous mouthfeel, not very hot. Sweet, fruity, and floral on a slightly delayed arrival. Fades quickly and loses character. Faint chemical note evolves when rolling it around on the tongue.
Finish: Warm, earthy, baking spices, heavy on cinnamon and clove. Slightly minty. Then turns suddenly toward a slightly charred soil, which lingers, bitter and drying, for too long. After a long time it develops a sensation of chewing on green leaves.
Conclusion: This has a great nose with some nice fruity/floral/earthy notes, but the palate and finish seriously let me down: it starts out pretty good if a bit thin, a little off-bitter, just kind of doesn’t live up to the nose. Weird off-notes pop out here and there. Jarring changes in profile from nose to palate to finish. The nose is great but the experience is overall meh and at times unpleasant. I rate without factoring in price but I was aghast when I double checked what this cost. It’s at least interesting…
Buy a bottle? No; the value isn’t there. Way too pricey for anything less than incredible.
Final Score: 78 – Above average, but only just. Points for “interesting.”
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 
