Quietly flying under the radar, continuing to produce more impressive malts with each release, is the island distillery of Arran; one of Scotland’s more modern distilleries, built in 1993 before the boom. There are precious few producers left who will let K&L purchase directly from their live inventory, and even fewer who will quote us a more moderate price for such treasures. To get a fifteen year old, cask strength, sherry hogshead in this market is like asking for the moon. To get it distillery-direct for $129.99 is a no-brainer. This whisky, to me, represents the perfect marriage of malted barley and sweet sherry. Both elements are in complete balance, yin and yang, constituting an equal 50/50 of the flavor profile. There’s a huge note of sweet malted vanilla, but it gives way at the back to fruitier notes of Oloroso goodness. At 56.8% ABV, the heat is dialed up, adding an extra blast to all that intensity. As long as Arran keeps letting us in the door, we’ll keep knocking. This is textbook Scotch.
2000 Arran 15 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky 750ml ($129.99)
We’ve grown awfully fond of the little-distillery-that-could on Scotland’s Isle of Arran. Every time we make a visit and search for a new cask, we seem to find just the right barrel to bring back home. We’re batting 1.000 with their sherry-matured inventory, and this new hogshead cask is quite possibly the grand slam of finds. It’s not a sherry bomb by any means, as it beautifully meanders from stonefruit and creamy malt into elements of cakebread and spice, but then back to the soft vanilla of the malt again. At 56.8%, it’s a powerful dram, but one that can handle water like an Olympic swimmer. In the whisky boom era, finding distilleries that can directly sell us casks of the highest quality (that aren’t obvious leftovers from the recent batch), from their very best stocks is not easy. Most distilleries that still offer cask programs have increased their pricing by 25-40% over the last year. But Arran keeps on chugging away, fully showing us that they’re a distillery and a relationship worth investing in. This latest 15 year old sherry cask is all the proof you need.
David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: August 11, 2015
Arran just continues to quietly pump out some of the best single malt in Scotland, under the radar and without much pomp or circumstance. This 15 year old sherry hogshead beautifully balances the malty core of great single malt whisky with the lovely accents of sweet Oloroso sherry. A real winner in a market with fewer and fewer values.
Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: August 10, 2015
We are super lucky here at K&L…we get to taste / drink a ton of great booze. We sip Port Ellen 30, single casks of Glenfarclas from the ’60s and Johnnie’s George V…but if I’m completely honest with you, several of the most impressive bottles I have tasted in my time at K&L have come from Arran. I don’t know what it is about these whiskies but they just resonates with me. They seem to have such great concentration of flavor, richness, texture and length. The malts have freshness, spicy, honeyed yellow fruits, toasted grains, lovely sherry derived cake spices and rancio tones. It’s rich, supple and satisfying but also refined and graceful. Pretty magic stuff at any price point, and at this price…crazy good. If you’ve skipped over Arran before for its more famous Islay neighbors, you should really give this a try.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: August 08, 2015
It is always a treat to taste a single malt from Arran. This Arran 15 has expressive aromas that offer malty floral notes with a hint of salt.It opens up with some water offering a nice round malt with a balanced sherry influence. It is pretty, easy to drink and very good.
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