The_Rev
Speyburn Arranta Casks
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
December 23, 2016 (edited May 9, 2020)
The only thing keeping this from receiving a 5 from me is that it's a smidgeon too hot; my guess is that since it's an NAS, the whisky's still on the young side. That being said, this is a prime example of what you miss out on if you write off NAS whisky for reasons of principle (or snobbery). The nose is bursting at the seams with coconut cream pie, lush vanilla, nutmeg, and an array of orchard fruits. The palate, despite a little burn from the youthful spirit, is equally full and abounding in sweet, rich, luscious coconut, vanilla, ripe fruits, and spice, with a little schmear of chocolate on the palate toward the end of the finish. If the worst thing I can say about this dram is that it's just a trifle too young, then we have a winner - and for a song. I picked this up for less than $40!
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@Clarkebar Your timing is great; I just had a dram of this last night and was thinking about how good it is! Easily the best Speyburn I’ve had.
This is a damn fine whiskey, no bones about it. At the price you can do far worse and get much less for your money. This was a surprise gift from a Nephew and his Fiance at our Easter Family dinner for 35 people. Needless to say, the three of us found our way down to the wine cellar after dinner to sample this and other whiskys kept there. I love the burn and mist this gives with or without drawing in air. Approaches some of the complexity of sherry/wine casked whiskys without having been in them. A relative bargain at the price they must have paid in this locality near Gettysburg, PA
I waffle around on the NAS issue, if I'm being honest. On the one hand, I agree fully about the worrisome trend toward abandoning age statements (and, worse, aging) to push product...for the same price. On the other hand, there are enough good NAS offerings out there that aim to do something new or different than the aged statements offered by the distillery. I hate the notion of replacing good age statement whiskies with lesser NAS offerings for the same price tag (I'm looking at you, Japanese distilleries)...that, more than anything, is what angers me and I refuse to give that my blessing with my money. Something like this, though, that's a bit more experimental, or a new expression of the distillery character, I'm willing to let slide. Damn NAS whiskies and their complicating my life. On a cheerier note, merry Christmas!
I don't mind getting NAS or NAS blends if they're transparent, like the way Compass Box is. Otherwise, dollar for dollar, I'll choose the aged version.
I fully agree with you, Slainte. I hope that this recent trend in NAS scotch isn't all just a money grab and hope it's just a necessary evil while distilleries are expanding and ramping up production in an effort to catch up from the recent single malt boom taking place around the world. Time will tell, but I have a sinking feeling NAS is here to stay and may only get worse over the next decade or two.
There are certainly good examples for NAS whiskies, but I am avoiding NAS as a matter of principle. There are exceptions, such as Ardbeg Uigeadail, Aberlour A'Bunadh, quater cask-matured malts (Ardmore/Laproaig), or even malts coming from a different climate with intense cask breathing (Kavalan). The trend towards NAS due to marketing and profite reasons, however, is something that I, as a customer, try to boykott. I am not claiming that all NAS whiskies are sh** which is certainly not the case! I just feel that age statements are an essential part of Scotch whisky. Nice review, btw.
Inver House's stable of distilleries can crank out some solid whisky for great prices - they run Speyburn, Old Pulteney, Knockdo (aka anCnoc), Balblair, and Balmenach. I can't vouch for Balmenach, but the rest provide consistently good quality at very reasonable price points. The Arranta Casks bottling is a limited run, so I had to drive out to the back of beyond (i.e. south suburban Cook County) to get it. Worth the gas money, though!
Thanks for this----I never saw this one before, but now will need to keep an eye out for it
I picked up a bottle for about the same price a few months ago and have yet a chance to open. Speyburn is creating some decent whiskies and selling a fantastic price. Speyburn 10 is very good and can be had for about $39. Great review. Will have to open my bottle sooner than later.