The Arranic Wars, fourth battle and last


March 8, 2024

The Arranic Wars, fourth battle and last

Arran

Arran 10 yo (46%, OB, sherry and bourbon, +/-2017)

Indeed, it's still the old label. Let's admit it, the new one is more elegant. Colour: gold. Nose: it's nice, it's simple, it's all about brioche, barley and bread dough. There's not much to add, perhaps some pear poached in sweet wine. Mouth: it's more rustic, but it's good. There's more depth to it than in the big-name Speysiders of the same age, I find, but it's further away from the coastal ones (BN, HP, Cl, OP...). In short, it's in between the two. Finish: medium length, with coffee coming from the cask charring (I presume). Comments: a neat little malt. Of course, it's better with the new label (S., nonsense!)
SGP:451 - 83 points.

Arran 18 yo (46%, OB, sherry and bourbon, +/-2017)

We'll do this very quickly; we've already tasted the 18 many times. It was a bit disappointing in 2020 (WF 84) but now we're going back to an older distillate, for good reason naturally. Colour: gold. Nose: there are lovely notes of beeswax and pollen, fresh bread, very ripe apples, fougasse, panettone, gazelle horns, fresh walnuts... Mouth: I adore chicory and even Nescafé, believe it or not. There's plenty of that here, as well as roasted malt and cereals of all kinds, maple syrup, slightly burnt cake... Bring me some champagne and we'll have breakfast! Finish: medium length but very pretty, with malt and honey. Nothing to complain about. Comments: definitely better than the more recent versions, one might say... despite the label. Right.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Arran 14 yo 2006/2020 (53.5%, OB, LMDW, Sherry Hogshead, cask #08/800485, 275 bottles)

LMDW have really offered a lot of Arrans in recent years, and it's hard to fault them for it. Colour: amber with copper tones. Nose: a somewhat rustic sherry, it seems, herbaceous, with fruit skins, nuts, grape must, even lees... We're definitely going to need some water. With water: bursts of peony! But it remains earthy. Mouth (neat): it's very pleasant on the palate, sweet, fruity, reminiscent of a young rancio. Pepper, overripe apples, very ripe peaches, equally ripe damsons, honey, pink grapefruit... With water: it becomes more honeyed and even more focused on fresh, even green, nuts. The famous Italian nocino. Finish: long, still oscillating between the fruity and the more herbaceous notes. Comments: it's good, not much to add, not sure we're going to remember this very good little Arran ex-sherry all our life, are we?
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Arran 12 yo 2006/2019 (53.6%, Single Malt Whisky Shop Zammel, sherry hogshead, cask #2006/800463, 315 bottles)

Arran 12 yo 2006/2019 (53.6%, OB for Single Malt Whisky Shop Zammel, sherry hogshead, cask #2006/800463, 315 bottles)

Our Belgian friends at it once more, it seems. Colour: gold. Nose: lovely cakes, toasted nuts of all kinds, sesame paste, peanut butter (I love that), pecan pie... All is going well so far. With water: a bit more on bread dough, pastry dough, Christmas cake, dried figs... Mouth (neat): very good, balanced between toasted nuts and pure sherry notes, just a bit winey. Blood oranges and sultanas. With water: syrupy peaches emerge, otherwise we stay in the same realm. Finish: quite long, a tad more undefined. Frankly, with thousands and thousands of sherry-treated casks filled, it's not obvious to extract something dazzlingly substantial every time, as the philosophers would say. Comments: but naturally, it's very good.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Inevitably, at this point, one asks this perhaps seminal question: does a single cask necessarily have to offer something distinctive? Please send your answers on a postcard (remember, print is back).

Arran 21 yo 2001/2023 (55.3%, OB for Whisky in Leiden, bourbon, cask #2001/061, 145 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: classic fresh barley-y malt, with some custard, shortbread, oatcakes, butterscotch, pear cake, acacia honey, white nougat… With water: nougat prevails, along with various halvas from Turkey and elsewhere. Peanuts, almonds... It's all just sinful. Mouth (neat): soft, very good, very smooth, sweet, with cider and perry notes, accompanied by very pretty honeyed and malty notes. With water: it becomes a bit closed off, more herbaceous, a bit terpenic. Not its best phase. Finish: long but indeed, herbaceous and not very approachable. A pity. Comments: this baby doesn't seem to like water too much, it's like a kitten. At cask strength, it's a magnificent whisky, just a little too powerful. Water or not water, a cruel dilemma, as they say.
SGP:461 - 84 points.

Isle of Arran 20 yo 1998/2018 (51.4%, Caora, sherry hogshead, Caora N°5, cask #849, 120 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: entirely on candy sugar, manuka honey, maple syrup, and 'just slightly burnt' cakes. There's nothing here to dismiss. With water: brilliant, maple syrup, from a small farm, Quebec, organic and all that. I know some who make pancakes in the morning just as an excuse to have maple syrup (guilty as charged). Mouth (neat): it's pure maple syrup, really! That's great because at WF we love maple syrup, especially on foie gras—there, a suggestion. With water: has this ex-sherry Arran been finished in a maple syrup cask? Come on, it's just us here, tell us the truth... Finish: I can sense a Quebecois accent coming through... Comments: it's true, you have to be fond of maple syrup., tabernak.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

Arran 25 yo 1996/2021 (49%, Thompson Bros., sherry hogshead, 192 bottles)

What a wonderful label! Colour: bronze gold. Nose: ex-Jamaican rum cask? I know they say sherry hogshead… But lemons, gherkins, diesel oil, nail polish remover, olives.. don't tell me this belongs to Arran! With water: some gentler, earthier, maltier notes. Stout and cakes. Perhaps no rum cask, after all. Mouth (neat): awesome, big, punchy, peppery, earthy, smoky, terpenic in some way… With water: back to earthy/dusty flavours. Finish: medium, earthy. Autumn leaves, salty seaweed… Comments: tough to handle and perhaps to enjoy, please do not add any waterz – and you'll be better than fine.
SGP:361 - 85 points.

Having reached the 32nd Arran, I think we'll stop there. Arran is a fabulous whisky, one we absolutely adore, but it may not have a distinct enough personality to dominate and leave its mark on strictly all types of casks. To be honest, this is the case for four out of five malt whiskies, if not more, especially in Speyside. Unless they use more refill wood and let the distillate and time work their magic, which, granted, doesn't seem to be the main trend these days. But then again, bravo to Arran. Oh, and let's keep watching cousin Lagg…

Check the index of all Arran we've tasted so far