The Arran Sherry Cask Whisky

Today I look at the Arran Sherry Cask single cask Scotch whisky. The Arran distillery is situated to the east of the village of Lochranza, on the isle of Arran, Scotland.

At its peak, there were over 50 distilleries located on the isle. Founded in 1993, the distillery is the only one left on the island.During its construction, a pair of Golden Eagles built their nest in the crags above the distillery. Golden Eagles are a protected species.

Construction of the distillery was temporarily halted to allow the eagles to hatch their chicks. On a warm summer’s day, you may see the eagles gliding high on the thermal currents.

Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde. With an area of 432 square kilometres, it is the seventh-largest Scottish island. Production of whisky started in 1995. It has been claimed that the water used for The Arran Malt is the purest in all of Scotland.

The water has reputedly been cleansed by granite and softened by peat as it slowly meanders from the mountaintops into nearby Loch na Davie. The Arran Malt distillery also benefits from a warm microclimate.

The atmosphere of sea breezes and clear mountain air, with the warm flow of the Gulf Stream, is ideal for the maturation of single malts. The Arran Island is sometimes called “Scotland in miniature”, as it is divided into “Highland” and “Lowland” areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.

I have Arran Sherry Cask whisky bottle 186 of 285 from Cask 109. The single malt whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2006. This bottle is a Limited Edition matured in a Sherry cask.

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The Arran Sherry Cask Whisky Review

REGION: Islands

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark golden amber with a hint of red.

NOSE: On nosing, the sherry sweetness is very noticeable. Dried fruit and wood also come through, with hints of butterscotch in the background. It’s not a very oily whisky, but it does leave nice streaks on the inside of a glass.

PALATE: On the palate, the expected sweetness does not come through. Instead, raisins, dried fruit, wood and some spice emerge. Underneath, there is a bit of butterscotch. The Arran has a medium body.

FINISH: Lingering. The whisky ends on notes of pepper, burnt caramel, ginger and aniseed. It becomes a bit sweeter again on the finish. The relative youth of the spirit seems to come through. The flavour is there, but they have not combined as well as they could. It might be that with longer ageing, things will improve.

RATING: GOOD

Compared to some of the other young whiskies in my collection, one feels something is missing. It is by no means a bad whisky – it is just a bit disjointed.

The Arran has a range of expressions, some of them quite collectable. I look forward to adding some more expressions to my collection in the future. I have also tasted the Arran Napoleon Cognac cask release, and enjoyed it a lot more.

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