Arran 1996 Malts of Scotland

Review by: Raygun

One from the early days of Arran, which started producing in 1995. One fairly distinctive characteristic of Arran is their use of sherry hogsheads. Other distilleries do it, but not as regularly. I feel like most sherry maturations I’ve seen from Arran are hogsheads rather than the more common butts. This one looks like a refill cask, which brings up a question of where it came from. Too early for Arran to be reusing their own casks, so had to have come from somewhere else. Maybe some butts that they had reconstructed into hogsheads? Who knows? Malts of Scotland is a German IB that I haven’t had too much experience with. Not the same as Single Malts of Scotland, which is an Elixir Distillers brand. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes. 

Distillery: Arran

Bottler: Malts of Scotland    

Region/style: Islands single malt Scotch

ABV: 56.3%. Cask strength.

Age: 16-17 years old. Distilled in 1996, bottled in 2013.   

Cask type: Sherry hogshead #13002, 249 bottles

Color:  1.0 deep copper. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Not too sherried. There’s grapes and dates to be sure, and also orange and almonds. A custardy element comes out with time. Can definitely smell the alcohol. Hints of musty basement.                       

Palate: More citrus influence with orange and lemon. A nutty, pastry quality which is reminding me of an almond croissant. Dates and honey. Rich without getting excessive. Pastry cream and lemon glaze, like a lemon eclair. Again pretty hot. Even more almonds the second time around.  

Finish: More citrus, honey, and florals. Almonds, dates, and oolong tea. Probably a refill hogshead; both the sherry and oak flavors aren’t too dominant. More Oloroso sort of mustiness. Leans oakier with time, with more astringency.   

Conclusion: A 1996 Arran was one of my favorite bottle purchases of all time, and since then I’ve been chasing the dragon. This isn’t there. I don’ t know if my palate has changed since then or I just got a particularly good release, but I’ve had a few others of the vintage and none have measured up. This is a more moderately sherried style, which I appreciate. I like the almond croissant character. Was just hoping for a little more out of it.

Score: 79

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
  • 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

2 thoughts on “Arran 1996 Malts of Scotland”

  1. Heh surely we’ve all spent years trying to track down that magic drop which is no longer available – the one that surpassed any other whisky we’d ever drunk, or was at least unbelievable value for money – only to find when we were finally successful that it was … disappointing.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yes, I’m curious whether I’d feel the same way if I tried that same cask again. Was it really as good as I thought at the time? This was almost ten years ago and it was much earlier in my whisky journey. Maybe I’m remembering it as better than it really was.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment