Arran Quarter Cask "The Bothy"

Floral, refreshing on the nose. Surprisingly smooth on the palate. Sweet, watered honey, fresh aftertaste.

Spicy burn at first but mellows quickly to a really full, smooth vanilla and caramel finish without being too sweet.

Nose: cinnamon, caramel, vanilla notes Palate: more intense caramel, spicy, warm vanilla Finish: very mild, oily

Nose: (neat) Closed and tight, some woody cask aromas and malt but it's very restrained. There's a trace of honey and butter but they are masked by the ethanol. Over time a little more unfurls with lemon and grassy notes showing. Nose: (watered) Water brings out notes of fresh wood like newly-sawn planks, freshly mown hay, sunflower oil, lemon zest, pineapple and delicate honey, however it remains a very contained nose. The longer this sits to rest in the glass, the better. Palate: (neat) Sweet, fruity, heavy but again there is the feeling that it is locked up very tight. Some banana and coconut, and a little white pepper. Palate: (watered) It’s on the palate where water makes a real difference with the whole performance blooming and expanding immediately, however this remains a very fresh, crisp style of malt. Sweet citrus, coconut, honey, malt, tropical fruit, cereal, almond and cream. The mouth-feel is more full-bodied and it gains more heft as it rests after watering. Finish: (neat) Medium/Long. Sweet malty notes with lingering barley sugar sweetness. When watered the finish is not greatly changed, apart from becoming a little more dry with a hint of brine. Over time as it rests the finish becomes much longer with fresh, sweet citrus and orchard fruit in the aftertaste. Back before Arran had their great re-branding (around 2020 I think) they used to have an expression called The Bothy which was also quarter cask matured, however it was darker, more full-flavoured and richer than this expression. When the announcement was made to discontinue I managed to snag three bottles of the old Bothy Batch 2, and I’m glad to have them. Which is not to denigrate this whisky at all, on the contrary this is a very pleasant dram, both neat and when watered, and I enjoyed it most with dilution which I felt softened, released and amplified everything about it. That’s not surprising as I generally prefer my whisky under 50% abv, but here it was particularly so. I also noted with delight that this louches spectacularly when watered, just as the old Bothy expression used to. It's nice to see that Arran is still giving their spirits only the lightest of barrier filtration, and no chill-filtration. If adding water to this always wait for the “mist” to rise so you experience all the precipitated oils at their peak. If you don't see it, you have not used enough water - put more in. The whisky can take it and the louche is one of the delights of this expression. Tasted from a generous sample provided by @DrRHCMadden. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars) just 2 percentage points and a quarter star down from the old expression)

Ultra rare 5 🌟! This one packs an unusual punch for a scotch in a very good way! I hope to find this one again. Damn good!