It is no mystery that Arran has become one of my favorite distilleries. They offer a tropical profile that feels so far from Scotland, it can actually transport you to the Caribbean sea. And that is actually what i expect from every Arran and i managed to get my hands on a sample of this 17yo whisky, that hit the markets almost a decade ago.
Bottle at 46%abv, a beautiful gold color.
On the nose, there is two times, two rythms. Starts with an incredible butterscotch aroma. Dehydrated tropical fruits and lovely honey. Some maritime/salty note has risen. There is some farm hay in the heart of the honey note. A Cake that its about to go rancid, like it is on the last day that you can eat it. Peel from citric fruits, pepper. Tobacco. After a couple of sips, a greasy note like ham has appeared. But then, after two sips, appeared this "third nose" which was completely different: impalpable sugar, chocolate, milk powder. Where were those sweet notes before?. UPDATE: I LET IT BREATH A LOT, like 10 minutes, and a thick, marshamallow vanilla has taken over all the aroma notes.
On the palate, notoriously sweet and spicy. Toffee, caramel and salt. A salty butterscotch. Yellow apples, a little sulphuric note. Starts thick and sweet but quickly becomes salty and acid.
Aftertaste is all about hay and caramel. Apples. A little grassy and salty. Hints of bitter cocoa. Very "cowboy", feels like you are in the old wild west. Bitter tobacco and burnt hay.
Overall, this is a great dram, but the nose is way better than the rest of the criterias. Super enjoyable but a little simple in the palate and disonant on the aftertaste without losing too many points, this is a whisky that feels exactly as a 17yo single malt should be, with some matured notes and layers of different things, properly delivered to the drinker. My score for it is a very fair 88 over a 100.