pkingmartin
ARRAN RARE BATCH 15 YEAR OLD ARGONNE CASK
Single Malt — Island, Scotland
Reviewed
September 28, 2022 (edited March 26, 2023)
For this release, Arran aged their single malt in French oak casks sourced from the Argonne Forest in north-east France that had previously held wine from a traditional winemaker near the village of Ay for 15 years before bottling it at 53.5%.
The nose starts with a mix of creamy mango, pineapple and cedar planks then honeysuckle, rose hips, and chamomile tea followed by mandarin orange, lychee, and caramelized peaches that transitions to cloves, candied ginger and polished leather with no ethanol burn.
The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of creamy mango, pineapple and cedar planks then honeysuckle, rose hips, and chamomile tea followed by orange blossom, lychee, and passion fruit that transitions to sandalwood incense, candied ginger and polished leather with low ethanol burn.
The finish is medium length with persimmons, honeysuckle, sandalwood incense, candied ginger, cloves and polished mahogany.
An incredibly unique and expertly balanced dram that started a bit restrained but with some patience the subtle notes slowly emerge to reveal a fruit forward mix of tropical fruits with light cedar along with florals, light citrus and polished oak that drinks far older than the 15 years would indicate.
Thanks @DrRHCMadden for bringing this one to my attention as I doubt I would have ordered a sample of it without reading your fantastic review first.
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@pkingmartin it’s not the easiest for sure. I guess it makes it more worthwhile though, and we do have some truly fantastic emerging distilleries. So, it’s not all bad.
@DrRHCMadden Dang, it sounds especially hard and expensive to be a spirits enthusiast in Australia.
@pkingmartin indeed! I find samplers hard enough to come by too though! Ahhh whisky, you cruel mistress.
@DrRHCMadden I tend to favor the expensive bottles that categorically slap but can easily see the opposite perspective. My solution to have a diverse selection has recently been to just acquire samples of the bottles to try, so I’ll still be able to try those expensive gems but at a more affordable cost and then determine if a bottle would be worth it later on.
@DrRHCMadden I’m sure the beer lobby have a good amount of money to the politicians for that
@PBMichiganWolverine import tax in Australia is a killer as well, it’s 10% of purchase price plus a per unit alcohol fee. Essentially adds an extra 30-40% on top.
@pkingmartin @DrRHCMadden not to mention shipping costs….like all else, they’ve gone up. So makes it difficult to justify a purchase , esp international from the likes of TWE
@pkingmartin as special as they are, yes; other things take priority. My inner fight is always between one expensive bottle that categorically slaps vs the three or four I could get at the same collective price…. Diversity is the spice of life I hear…
@DrRHCMadden Oh yikes! Seems like some purchases to take your time to save up and purchase. I’m sure they are all very tasty but food and a mortgage are usually holding me back from the more discretionary fun purchases. @hvalbuena Awesome! I look forward to reading your thoughts on it when you get around to reviewing it.
@hvalbuena amazing. We are in rare company then!
@DrRHCMadden yes I got one too, will post my impressions soon, thanks for sharing your tasting notes
@pkingmartin oh yeah! The 18, 21, 25. I need to get them on my shelf. That’s a cool 1k in Australia. So I’ll get right on that 😅 mortgage and food be damned!
@DrRHCMadden Looks like that one came after the 25 year which seems like a hard act to follow. Bordeaux finishes are tough to pull off, so off balance seems likely and 15ml is enough to have a taste and do a quick evaluation to see if it’d be worth further exploration. I should hopefully be getting to the sample tomorrow, so we’ll find out soon where I land on it.
@pkingmartin I got to the bordeaux, I think 5th on my virtual tasting. If memory serves, balance was perhaps lacking. Or perhaps I was overly critical. 15 ml was not enough to really mull things over and dig into it as I commonly try to do. My review on it is perhaps lack lustre then. I’ll look forward to your notes :)
@DrRHCMadden I’ll be tasting that one next on my mini Arran journey. I’m excited but most wine finishes tend to be more tannic than I prefer. I’ve had some that were expertly balanced, so I’m hopeful Arran is among them that balance those red berries and tannins well.
@pkingmartin now on the hunt for a Bordeaux cask…
@DrRHCMadden Yeah, I agree. It’s a really unique and incredible whisky that would be ideal for a special occasion celebration.
@pkingmartin it’s rarified juice for sure. Going to need to be a special occasion to open this I think!
@DrRHCMadden That’s fantastic!!! I tried to find a bottle but am settling on 2 more sample bottles as my hunt through the web ended like some of these crypto lenders going bust. Enjoy the spoils of your hunt and I’ll be more mindful when I stumble on any Arran offerings going forward.
Glad you enjoyed it Sir! I managed to bag one of the 3,000 bottles last month. Very exciting.