Continuing on my Arran exploration, I have a sample of The Arran Malt 23 Year Explorer Series Volume 4: Drumadoon Point that matured for 23 years in Sherry Puncheons before being bottled at 49.5%. The nose starts with mango, fried plantains and sandalwood then cocoa powder dusted prunes and toasted walnuts followed by lychee, apricot and dehydrated pineapple that transitions to light baking spices, leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with mango, pineapple and sandalwood before a mild bitter spice that slowly fades to cocoa powder dusted prunes and toasted walnuts followed by caramelized pears, apricot and tangerine orange that transitions to light baking spices, leather and mildly bitter black tea with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with mango, dehydrated pineapple, chocolate covered raisins, toasted coconut, black pepper and mildly bitter black tea. The sherry influence is surprisingly light for the 23 years of maturation that instead of being the dominant note it is more of a sweet tropical fruit forward dram that the sherry notes add to the complexity and the wood influence is very light with mild bitter oak that drinks younger than its age. I was really hoping this would beat the 15-year Argonne release, but the flavors aren’t as bold and rich as I’d hoped for and it suffers from a slight off balanced bitterness. It’s still a delicious dram and one that any Arran fan should try if they can find a sample or pour at a reasonable price.