With the whiskey reviews accumulating here, I'm trying to show off the diversity available. That's most apparent with Scotch, which is still my preferred style overall, so I do more of it than Bourbon or others. Next up is a weird one.
Arran distillery is located on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of the mainland, and was the first distillery there in over 150 years. The island is just east of both Islay and Campbeltown, which I've mentioned before. Technically part of the Highland region, they would be part of the 'Islands' if that was ever recognized. Opened in only 1995 it's certainly much newer than most distilleries making single malts, which is nearly all they sell. Independently built, owned and operated, Arran presaged the modern whiskey boom by picking a perfect time to open and produce mature whisky. It seems they've done well enough, as a second distillery owned by the company opened there in 2019. To note the difference the original Arran distillery is now called 'Lochranza' and the new one 'Lagg,' from their locations on the island. I'm not sure if they'll eventually update the labels to reflect this or if it's only the local nomenclature.
When they first started selling single malts, with relatively young whisky, Arran did a considerable amount of experimentation with maturation and produced some wacky expressions. You can still see this reflected in the variety of their core range, though its been pared back since the early days. Their flagship and best seller is a 10 year and you'll see older age statements as well in stores. It's the cask 'finish' bottles that are most interesting and what we're going to explore further.
Finishing a whisky means that an already mature whiskey is then transferred to a different type of cask for a short time before bottling. A finish implies that only a small percentage of the total maturation is in the different cask. Quite a few distilleries do this, examples being the Balvenie Doublewood and various expressions from Glenmorangie. These finishes quickly impart a significant change to the whisky, usually due to fresh casks that contained strong flavors (wines, rum, etc). Arran currently has three whiskies in its 'Cask Finish' series, Amarone, Port and Sauternes.
We have the especially unusual Amarone expression, a cask type I haven't seen used by anyone else. An older style label (they've since rebranded), ours looks to be the 2010 release. We picked this up a few years ago for some sort of celebratory occasion, my wife offering to buy something fancy. I chose it because I was curious about Arran, it's weird and she loves Amarone, an Italian wine she's only had a couple times.
Opening it about a week ago, I was horrified that the cork basically disintegrated on removal. The top separated from the rest of the cork and I needed to scoop it out with an oyster knife. A bunch ended up in the bottle. Gah! A friend (thanks Jake) suggested pouring it through a coffee filter to remove the little pieces and that worked beautifully. Disaster averted. A new cork was needed but luckily I have a bunch around and one fit.
It was time to finally try it. As always, I'm sampling neat and at room temperature.
ABV - 50% (100 proof)
Mash - 100% malted barley
Maturation - 'Traditional' oak (likely Bourbon) before Amarone cask finish
Age - No statement (at least 3 years), multiple reviews say typically ~8 years
Region - Isle of Arran, Highland/Islands
Price - ~$80
Tasting Notes:
Smell - Unique and wonderful, rich and fruity (cranberries?), maybe some candy (licorice?)
Color - Reddish/pinkish copper, dark for a Scotch
Taste - Scotch-ier (malt) than on nose, clear cask influence exudes wood/cherry/chocolate
Finish - Surprised it's 50% ABV, dry and medium length, balanced flavors
Final Thoughts:
Definitely a mixed bag. The nose is amazingly intriguing. Then it's the 'sweetest' (Scotch) whisky I've ever had, like a crazy extreme of sherry (another wine) maturation. Even if not sweet in actuality, the sugary (fruit/other) flavors from the wine casks overwhelm a bit and I'm glad the Amarone was only a short term thing. On the other hand it's well refined and a quality made dram with a pleasant finish. I think I like it as a novelty but will probably want some help with the bottle. As someone who seeks out strong flavors I'm surprised to say it's just a little too much for me.
Still, for tonight I won't complain. Sláinte!
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