cascode
Arran 21 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 9, 2022 (edited November 17, 2022)
Nose: Berries, almond honey-nut cluster muesli, sweet malt, orange liqueur, peach brandy, Turkish delight, the barest hint of sawdusty oak and a zephyr of fortified wine in the background.
Palate: Very soft, sweet arrival – a bowl of ripe red berries smothered in raspberry coulis, mascarpone, vanilla custard and honey. A little ginger in sweet syrup in the development together with sweet cinnamon, milk chocolate and unroasted cashew nuts. The texture is almost syrupy.
Finish: Medium. Apricots, sultanas and a little mild spice on a sweet caramel base.
A soft and easily approachable whisky that will please any palate but for me it lacks character and I don’t think it is good value. It’s very pleasant, for sure, but also limited in range and no better than many whiskies at a third the price. If I were to sum this one up in one word it would be "meh".
I don’t mind a straightforward sweet profile focused on fruit, even if it lacks complexity, but to me this was more akin to an easy-drinking 12 year old than a 21 year old. However, I can see why some palates would be very receptive to this subtle dram and rate it more highly. Maybe I'm just jaded and my palate is too old and battered to appreciate the nuances in this sort of whisky.
Tasted from a 15ml sample
“Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)
399.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@dhsilv2 Interesting. I dislike reviewing anything on the basis of a single small sample for exactly that reason. Sometimes you need many tastes from a bottle over a period of time to really come to grips with the spirit, and it’s the only way to experience oxidation etc. Cheers.
I found this one took time to open and took a few pours to really start to appreciate it. It starts off a bit like you said, a nice 12 year. But with time I started to find far more depth. Not sure if that's a sign of quality or not.
@DrRHCMadden Oops - I didn’t notice until I read your comment that I made a mistake with the rating. I set the slider to 3.75, which was my intention, but incorrectly typed 3.5 in the body of the review - I've corrected it now. I've not had the Arran Quarter Cask whisky, which is the revamped version of The Bothy. I did very much like the old Bothy (particularly the 2nd edition, which I rated here at 4.25 stars), in fact I liked it so much I bought several bottles when I heard that the packaging was to be changed. Part of the allure of The Bothy for me is the high proof, which adds an edge to the sweet, soft fruity Arran distillate style. I'd probably like the 21 year old a lot better if it was over 50% abv and had more force, but I still wouldn't pay $400 a bottle.
Interesting. You’ve scored this the same as the 10. To me the 21 is the refined and more contemplative elder sibling of the 10. Whilst it certainly is less impactful and pronounced as the 18 and 25 with the sherry influences there is, again for me, a marked improvement here. I’d go so far as to liken this to the comparison between HP18 (Arran 10) and HP25 (Arran 21). I’ll need to go look at your quarter cask notes now also, as it exists in the centre of these two I believe. I’m definitely looking forward to your 18 vs 25 now…