Arran 13 Year Old 1996 Private Cask

Erik and Walter D'hoogh opened their famous restaurant D'hoogh in the heart of historic Mechelen in Belgium. For 23 long years they held a Michelin star. In the middle of the 1990s their restaurant was also the location of the first ever Arran tasting outside the UK, hosted by Gordon Mitchell, the then-managing director of the distillery. You could find every bottle of Arran in their restaurant. Until 2006 they were the Arran Ambassadors in Belgium. In December 2014 they went into retirement (the new owners were not able to hang on to the Michelin star, however). This Private Cask bottling for D’hoogh was released in 2013.

The nose is wonderfully sweet and candy-like with white fruit (think apples, pears, gooseberries) and some exotic fruit (mango, papaya and pineapple). Vanilla ice with whipped cream! A couple of drops of lime juice. Marzipan with a hint of coconut. There is a lot going on here and I quite like it.

Wonderfully creamy on the palate. Good body and very spicy from the start. Pepper, ginger, nutmeg. The fruit kicks in and makes it dark and sweet. Think pear syrup. Prickles a bit, but it does not really need water.

The finish is short to medium long, spicy and warm.

Lovely Arran in which the sherry cask certainly leads, but does not dominate. Nicely balanced. Hard to find these days, unfortunately.

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