Arran - pretty comprehensive vertical / H-T-H

Yesterday we had the pleasure to enjoy an evening of Arran tasting with global brand ambassador Mariella in London. And yes, @casualtorture I thought of you. A few known expressions, a few new ones, and even something that’s not yet in the market – thanks for that!

I won’t relay all the pitch-talk here, suffice to say that key aspects that they are very proud of are the quality of their water (claimed to be the purest and best in Scotland) and the slooow distilling process and the tropical-type and unique (ehrm) sweetness across the line-up. But hey, this is a quality distillery with lovely people, so they have earned the right to be proud!

So, I thought I’d just make a few very short comments on the line-up below –

And I thought I’d simply steal the rating scale for this one from Malt-Review (and hence, yes, do the outrageous thing of allowing price to play into the take)-

1/10 – Probably Fujikai 10 years old…

2/10 – Would go a long way to avoid ever drinking this again.

3/10 – Pretty not great. Or astonishingly dull. Either way, no thanks.

4/10 – Glimmers of hope, but the negatives draw more focus than the positives.

5/10 – Bang average. Not bad, per se, but don’t expect your pulse to raise.

6/10 – Pretty good. Worth a glass now and then, but perhaps not one for a special occasion.

7/10 – Very good. Might um and ah over buying a full bottle if the price is high, but you can buy a glass with confidence. If it’s under £50, take a punt.

8/10 – Really excellent. Well worth picking up a bottle. If it’s under £50 you shouldn’t think twice.

9/10 – Exceptional stuff. The missing mark is probably because we’re fussy.

10/10 – Mind-bendingly brilliant. Whisky almost has no business being this good. An absolute must-taste. To expect more would be soulless and churlish.

Arran 10: the foundation. It’s very affordable, but it is 46% and UCF, and frankly strikes a pretty good balance overall. 70% 1st fill bourbon, 30% sherry of unknown provenance. Viscous, strong elements of vanilla stalks, and fresh green peppercorns. Pretty lasting and lingering finish. Rating 6/10.

Arran 14: Yea, you’d expect this one here wouldn’t you? However, the simple fact is, we were told, that they have run out and it ain’t coming back. Sorry folks, better stack up as I know many who hold this one as their favourite in the lineup. Who knows, if you get a load you may be able to sell them off to the same people that used to pay hundreds of pounds for Glendronach 15

Arran 18: this one has the casks inverted with the 10: 70% sherry, 30% 1st fill bourbon and also bottled at 46% and NCF. Hmm… it’s thick and oily, yet I get (surprisingly) some more alco-burn than in the 10 (that is impossible - probably me, not the dram). Orange, more orange, and with a few drops of water grapefruit with a pleasant bitterness to it. It’s elderly, broken leather and wood-musty box. Very heavy on the sherry, maybe a bit... too much? I’d need to be in the mood for this one frankly. Of the 18 years olds out there… at the price… not sure. 6/10

Arran “The Bothy”: a bothy is apparently little houses scattered around the Scottish landscape where you can stay a few hours for free if needed – there you go, learned something new! This one is young and zippy, 8-9 years old and bottled at 53.8%. It’s 1st fill bourbon cask, and then squeezed for even more bourbon by spending the last 18 months in quarter casks! So, not surprisingly, it’s… very much... bourbon. A bit similar experience to the Kavalan ex-bourbon oak. Impression, well, I’m not much of a bourbon drinker so this one may have just taken a step too far… lots of orange and viscous sweetness. 4/10

Arran “Master of Distilling” (2nd batch, I believe): this one is actually not out yet (see photo), so we got a unique pre-taste which was very generous and kind. It’s 12 years old, finished in Palo Cortado sherry casks [sherrynotes.com/sherry-types/palo-cortado/] and bottled at 51.8%. The main surprise here was the total departure from Arran’s viscous and luscious palate, as this one was literally thin by comparison. It’s sweet and fruity, with the ever-present orange peel and zest that's the Arran style. It was interesting because it was a pretty notable departure from the lineup generally, but when we went around the table to pick everyone's favourite of the evening, this one remained silent, let’s just say. 5/10

Arran “Cask Finish – Amarone”: young again, 8-9 years old and bottled at 50% spot on. What a nose!! The wine influence is there in spades with the Amarone from ‘Allegrini’ vineyard in Veneto (Venice area) and it not a surprise that the sweet Amarone is one of the most well known and appreciated Italian wines. Wonderful nose. However… the palate didn’t manage to keep up with the eloquence of the nose. The sweetness is pleasant, but there’s a whiff of solvents present (too young?) and it’s just pretty.. linear and one-sided. You want something ‘complex’, move on. It’s really a pity that the palate fell on it's nose (or vice versa maybe in this case!?)… One can only imagine what this could have been had they let it for another couple of years and maybe toned down the 1st fill intensity to allow for a balanced interplay with the wine cask. As someone put it pretty astutely I thought: it’s a young Arran with a blanket of sweet Amarone, but they don’t come together/. 5/10

Arran “Côte Rotie”: another wine cask, this time French. Bottled at 50% and still pretty young 8-9 years, with 8 months in wine casks. This isn’t mind-blowingly complex either, but compared to the Amarone this one feels much more integrated and ‘together’. If you like the Arran style and want to try something a little different – I dare say this is a great place to go. The wine influence is very present but neither overwhelming nor shy. Other than the surprise that the 10 stacked up so well against the rest of the lineup, this was probably a favourite and most pleasant experience. It did receive friendly nods from a number of the room participants 8/10

Arran “Machrie Moor”: Hey, everyone needs to get onto that peated bandwagon, and this is Arran’s take on it: 20ppm with non-Islay peat and hence said to eliminate the medicinal, tcp style in favour of a drier smoky approach. It’s 7-8 years (see a trend?!) and bottled at CS of 58.2% (note: there’s also a watered down version of this selling at 46%, exactly the same juice though). The nose is… Arran with some peat. And on the mouth it’s hot. Aoch! To hot. It’s salty, and it’s a very ashy dry smoke. No… sorry… this doesn’t work for me (then again, I also have a problem with Kilkerran's saltiness, so blame me and not Arran cause some loved it). Too young, too hot, too in your face despite the low ppm. If I wanted something young and zippy with peat, this is not where I’d go. 3/10

Overall, A great evening with a distillery that definetly have their own foundation style, which is really well presented in the 10 (and to my recollection, even more so and with a great balance in the 14).

Now scoop they are also just about to launch their re-branding, and with peat introduced and a few expressions appearing a bit too prematurely taken in the 7-8-9 years bracket, one sort of suspects where this may go....

I just get the feeling at times (general observation, not towards Arran mind you) that someone came up with the formula that bottling at cask strength, and adding something 'extreme' to stand out (be it peatiness or cask finishing), then sprinkle with some mythological Scottish elements (and don't get me started on Vikings!), and voila - gotta be a winner, as long as it's more than 4 years, right??

One has to admire their experimentation though and having fun with casks, but with a base lineup losing the 14, and a whole series of experimental wine casks out there, and now peated expressions selling in two different bottles depending on whether you want the CS or the 46% version where someone else has just added the water for you (and selling at about £5 price difference) - one wonders if there isn't a risk that venerable Arran may lose a bit of its identity in the process?