Arran Quarter Cask "The Bothy"

Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: Definitely Scotch - honeyed, toasted grains with cracked black pepper. Also definitely all malt - not getting any grain whisky on the nose. Green tea. There's a thread of what I *think* is smoke. Guessing this is lightly peated similar to, say, an Orkney. There's a moderate richness and density that's pleasant. Coffee grinds, vanilla, and fennel are making me think this has more oak going on than usual. Also getting some ripe berries with a touch of balsamic vinegar. There's a bright note poking out that's making me think this is going to be around 48% abv. New leather. Not bad. Palate: This one kicks you around a bit! Revising my guess and putting this closer to, like, 55% (watch me be TOTALLY wrong here). Honey, oak, brown sugar, vanilla, cereal grain. Green bananas and green tea. Menthol and eucalyptus. Hot cinnamon, warming nutmeg, and cocoa. Some slight floral, perfumed character. This doesn't taste super aged, but there's a high level of oak. Going to guess this is either charred new oak or this is a smaller cask, a la the Octaves from a few days ago. Wondering if that's contributing to the heat. There's a slightly vegetal green bell pepper in the back. Again, there's whisps of smoke, as well as what I think is phenol. This shows up on the front, mid, and back palate. Realtively balanced, though very midrange-heavy. Medium mouthfeel. Finish: Bright flash of tea, ethanol, and fennel. The honey and vanilla mingle in, and then the grain character shows up. We then shift into mint and menthol while that smoke is showing up again. There's a consistent oak note that's present throughout. We then fade away slowly on black tea, vanilla, berries, and cream. Some solid oil content contributes to this medium long finish. Other notes: I enjoyed this one. This particular expression is in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for 7 years, then dumped into quarter-casks for 2 more before being bottled at 56.2%. Unpeated, which I got wrong, but I'm going to guess the high level of oak, barrel shar, and high proof is what tripped me up - actually JUST saw mention of the oak/peat paradox the other day. My guess around the casks was so close to nailing it - it was't either/or, but both! The age is unsprising, since there's not really any of that lingering "new-make" character you find from super young single malts. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my assessment here. Especially that proof call. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, to boot, which stands to reason since CS stuff tends to be my jam. Until next time, cheers!

Nose: plenty of oak and a bit of malt funk. Also floral citrus. Palate: very spiky/aggressive with the alcohol burn. But it makes the malt and wood tannins spring to life in the whole mouth. Once it subsides it leaves behind a bit of pastry frosting mixed with the tannins. Finish: the frosting lingers, almost like a pot stil Irish with its sweet shortbread.

I typically prefer my whiskies at 46% but the Arrans I tried at that ABV tasted a little muted and inferior to the cask-strength versions I sampled. For that reason, this release finished in small quarter casks and bottled at 56.2% offers the best value in the range. Knock it back to 50% to find its sweet spot and stretch your value even further. Unlike the age statement Arrans, it’s the palate that impresses more than the nose. The light aroma of honey and spice doesn’t prepare you for the massive spice explosion of the first sip: those quarter casks were clearly very active. Add a touch of water to get a better balance and bring out lovely caramel flavors speckled with salt and spice. The finish is long, with red pepper flakes and sticky toffee pudding topping. I’m not normally a fan of quarter casks, but they work very well to amplify the gentle Arran distillate. My second favorite of the five I tried, beaten only by a cask-strength 25-year-old that you can’t buy.

Salty. Nose iodine