|
Isle of
Arran
| |
 |
|
Isle of
Arran distillery was founded in 1995 when
production started on 29th June of that year.
It is
an independently owned distillery by the Isle of Arran
Distillers Co. and is located at Lochranza on the Isle of Arran
The
distillery was specifically located here to make use of what
they claim is the purest water in Scotland, sourced from Loch Na
Davie, high in the hills overlooking Lochranza. |
|
| |
OB Original
Distillery Bottlings |
General whisky characteristics: Smooth and creamy |
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
10y,
46% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
(70cl not mini)
|
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Very pale
Nose:
Initially slightly pungent and nose burning, but this soon
settles to warm leafy embers (without smoke) with hints of a
very mild cheese
Palate: Very creamy
popcorn, followed by a gentle explosion of creamy cheese, nuts,
peaches and faint honey.
Finish: Long
Overall Impression: A
very pleasant dram and nice to finally see the real character of
Arran without the wine finishes.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
100
proof, 57% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
(70cl not mini)
|
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Light gold
Nose:
Big. Slightly phenolic, reminds me of a superb 30y metaxa with
nuts, summer fruits, wine and cognac.
Palate: Very smooth and
creamy cocktail of apple, pear, papaya and marzipan, all
engulfing the palate in a delightfully long and luxurious
harmony.
Finish: Very long
With
3 drops of water: The nose now concentrates on phenolic wine
and nuts. The palate is more marzipan and apple.
With
3 more drops of water: A weaker nose, but a more spicy
palate with an even longer finish.
With
4 more drops of water: Weaker nose and now a less
interesting palate. The previous 6 drops were enogh.
Overall Impression: I
just found my favourite Arran. This is delightful.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Robert Burns, 40% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
(70cl not mini)
|
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Very pale
Nose:
Farmyard barn with hay, straw, grasses, horses and even a little
tractor tyre.
Palate: Very difficult
for me to place, but something akin to vanilla ice cream with a
yellow fruit sauce.
Finish: Long
Overall Impression:
Pleasantly creamy and drinkable.
|
|
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Very pale straw
Nose:
Fresh
and slightly strange in a fruity ice cream kind of way. In fact
I'm tempted to say slightly citrus ice cream with a hint of
farminess.
Palate: Smooth and
gentle ice cream, fruity with papaya, mango and melon alongside
that farminess.
Finish: Long
Overall Impression: Peat?
No not really. This is fruity and creamy with a farmy style, but
then I did taste this at the end of an evening of dramming so
I'll revisit it later with a fresher palate.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Devil's Punch Bowl,
52.3% ABV
First
Edition, bottled 2012, one of 6660 bottles
Bourbon
barrels and Sherry butts
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
|
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Bright yellow gold
with a hint of oak
Nose:
Very aromatic with gently perfumed hints alongside an
over-riding sensation of creamy toffee.
Palate: Spicy, tingly,
peppery and suggestions of herbs, perhaps cloves?
Finish: Long and spicy
Overall Impression:
Tingly, spicy, no surprise where the name came from, lovely.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Trebbiano D'Abruzzo, 56% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
|
| |
Nose: Dried fruits with
cheese
Palate: Spicy grass or
meadow with white chocolate. The flavour hits the palate, then
recedes only to return once more before fading slowly.
Overall Impression: In
the tasting, some people were not impressed with this dram, but
if you like your whisky with a spicy tingle, slightly dry and a
long finish, then go for it.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Arran,
Cream Sherry, 54.3% ABV
Bottle No. 714 of
800
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
|
|
| |
Nose: Very complex.
Perhaps a creamy cognac with a little sherry and overtones of
malt all wrapped in a Christmas pudding.
Palate: Oh yes, the
cream is there. As is the sherry. One of my first instincts was
to say that I made the comment about Christmas pudding on the
nose, but without any trace of custard. Funnily enough, this is
so creamy I am very tempted to say that the custard is on the
palate. Strange, I always associate vanilla notes with bourbon
casks. But this is creamy sweet and almost gives the feeling of
custard in texture and flavour. Somewhere in there is a nice
whisky too.
With water: The custard
and extreme cream have gone, leaving the cognac and whisky, with
sherry elements. The finish is long and very reminiscent of
cognac.
Overall impression:
Every Arran I have tasted has been very different. This is no
exception. Another success from Arran, but for me, preferably
without the water, even though it's just over 54%. I think
I'll have another.
Author's footnote: I would just like to add that on the
second time around, without water, there's a lovely almond and
gentle marzipan flavour in the aftertaste. I really do like this
one.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Icons of Arran #1; The Peacock, 46% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
|
| |
Glass; Classic Malt
Colour; 9 carat gold
Nose:
Lots of citrus notes here, mainly orange and also including
galia melon and a bouquet of fresh herbs which are very fresh
indeed, but not quite mint.
Palate: Those citrus
elements come through to the palate as orange, is there also a
little kumquat? This is a very smooth whisky which suddenly hits
the palate with a burst of liquorice which disappears as quickly
as it appears.
With 3 drops of water;
No liquorice, but it is even smoother and more creamy.
Finish; As the liquorice disappears from the palate it seems
to leave a very slightly bitter aftertaste.
Overall impression: Very
nice. It really is a good example of mixing bourbon and sherry
casks.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Icons of Arran #2; The Rowan Tree, 46% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
|
| |
Glass; Classic Malt
Colour; Oak
Nose:
Amazing and very different to the Peacock. This is much more
assertive and rich with dark chocolate, raisins and just a touch
of your typical working farmyard.
Palate: No sign of the
farmyard, but the dark chocolate is prominent over the raisins
and it's a smooth & creamy delight.
Finish; Long, creamy & silky
Overall impression: A
delightfully silky whisky from those folk at Arran and I prefer
this one over the Peacock. But then I never could resist smooth,
creamy, silky chocolate! |
|
|
| |
Whisky &
Chocolate (by Domori)
"Il Blend" 70% cacao. Light honey, caramel and a hint
of tobacco;
Although the honey of Il Blend does indeed
blend well with the creamy elements of the Arran, the whisky
tends to neutralise most of the flavours of the chocolate.
"Teyuna"
70% cacao. Bitter sweet, cashew nuts and a
touch of honey;
My first thought here is that the whisky
has been given a very slightly nutty bitterness from the
chocolate, but this isn't a bad thing, in fact it's a dimension
to the palate which I think is an improvement. The finish is
then long with elements of both whisky and chocolate once again
combining well. Very Good!
"Sur del
Lago" 70% cacao. Dark, rich, bitter sweet,
seaside promenade;
The sligthly bitter sea-front flavours of the chocolate make a
very good partner to the creamy, sherry-influence of the
whisky
to rough it up a little and
actually paint a more complete overall picture, as if a missing
jigsaw piece was magically added. Very good! |
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Yellow gold
Nose:
Lots of wood with hints of rubber.
Palate: Coffee cream,
truffle, dark chocolate, sweet raisins and plums.
Finish; Long, slightly smoky chocolate
Overall impression: I
still like this whisky and although some notes are the same as
the first time I tried it, I definitely experienced a slightly
different character this time around and if anything, I have
also changed my mind in that I think I just prefer the Peacock
to the Rowan Tree. |
|
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Icons of Arran #3;
distilled 1998, The Westie, 46% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale yellow gold
Nose:
My initial thought here is of leafy woody
vanilla as it has definite vanilla to the fore with a musty,
even dusty woodiness in the background. After 2-3 minutes a
fruitiness begins to develop which is mainly citrus, pineapple
and lemon zest immediately springs to mind. It's also quite dry
in a petit chablis kind of way, in fact it's almost in the style
of a dry white sherry.
Palate: The citrus
fruits immediately announce their presence on the palate which
is considerably less dry and acidic than the nose. I'd say the
palate is more Pouilly Fumé than Petit Chablis.
Finish; Long and fruity in that white wine kind of way.
Overall impression: Very
light, very interesting, very pleasant and very drinkable.
Perhaps an excellent aperitif before a summer BBQ in the garden. |
|
| |
 |
|
Arran,
Icons of Arran #4; The
Golden Eagle, 46% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
|
| |
Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale golden cork
Nose:
Where the Westie was akin to dry white wine,
this is more fruity red wine, maybe even almost blackcurrant
juice. It also has a mustiness which reminds me of wet leaves on
a forest road after a downpour. Some suggestion of freshly sawn
wood too.
Palate: Really very
solid, creamy and fruity. Quite sweet too in a marble cake kind
of way. A faint nuttiness then appears which intensifies to
remind me of some wonderful buttery hazelnut cake which is a
speciality of a small region near the Black Forest in Germany.
Finish; Long, buttery, creamy and lightly nutty.
Overall impression: I
love that buttery hazelnut cake. A most enjoyable whisky but a
quite tame Golden Eagle. |
|
|
© Copyright
2009-2020 by Keith Wood - All rights reserved - Whisky-Emporium /
Whisky-Emporium is not responsible for external website content |
 |
