I was looking forward to this as I enjoyed my previous drams from Arran: the Machrie Moor and the 12yo CS.
The nose yields some strong fruit aromas like lemon, orange, raisins and a Barratts fruit salad sweet (pineapple and raspberry flavour). Ralfy says fresh fruit basket and he’s not wrong. There’s light salt and a bit of a seaweed or coastal smell too.
There’s a nice balance to it and it is very drinkable. Lightly sweet, sherried and creamy with blackcurrant to the fore and some spice and mint on the finish. For the 46% it is not at all hot or harsh throughout. The empty glass reminds me of chocolate rice krispie buns.
I’m not the first to compare it to a sherried, Irish potstill but it reminds me of a salted Redbreast. That is good company in my book.
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@robertwayne64024 glad to hear you like it too. It seems reasonably easy to get here. For €50 too, which is not a bad price either comparatively.
This is one of my favs, but getting to be hard to find in my area.
@1901 Say no more. I still remember Opal Fruits...
@CKarmios 😆 yes it’s all about your frame of reference. I don’t get many the hershey references used by other good reviewers i follow, but throw in a comparison to European penny sweets loaded with E numbers and I’m on board.
Good stuff - salted Redbreast was very helpful. On the other hand, Barratt Fruit Salad chews, eh? 😀
@1901 yes BenRiach and the third one is Bunnahabhain. But Kilchoman is creeping up rapidly.
@Jan-Case i see you have a lot of experience with Arran. I’ll have to try some more myself. I like what i have tried so far. Out of interest what are your other two top distilleries? I’m guessing BenRiach has to be one of them.
Arran is one my top 3 distilleries. As for the standard bottlings the 18y so for is the best. It is even better than the regular 21y. (Their special releases are super good as well as their peated expressions.)
@dubz480 thanks mate. I checked out your 14yo review again and see you liked it. There’s a good chance you’d like the 10yo too. I have a 14yo miniature I have yet to try, but I hear it is more sherried than the 10. All 3 Arrans i have had have been very good and I’ve given the. all 4 stars or over.
Nice review as always! I really enjoy the 14 yr sounds like I should try the 10 as well!