Ctrexman
Arran 14 Year (Old Label)
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
October 28, 2019 (edited October 10, 2022)
Saw this on sale for $52, seemed like a good value for a 14 yr and the 10 has good reviews. Non chill filtered and 92pf is a thumbs up Poured neat, nice coating of glass. Nose has buttered shortbread, rich malt, cinnamon applesauce and spiced oak. Pretty deep with only a trace of ethanol. Thick oily mouthfeel leads palate of creamy spicy malt with some apple, barley sugar and strong oak . Some heat and sizzle comes through but this is tasty scotch. Its aligned with Deanston 12 profile focusing more on the pure malt flavor with some surrounding accents. Finish is fading malt, some vanilla bean with sturdy oak that dries for some balance. Slightly bitter at end but not unpleasant. Great weight and powerpacked flavor make for an excellent single malt. Doesn't have the smoothness of older scotches(has some heat)and I would give the edge to Deanston but this is still upper level malt imo......89/100.......minor deduction for price and excess heat for a 14 yr
52.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@islay_emissary I wouldn’t say complain, be an arse; yes. I like the ginger spice on the end of Arran, I found the tail of end HP12 was heat without flavour.
@DrRHCMadden - Wait… aren’t you the guy complaining about the heat on a Highland Park 12 (43%)? 🙂 My comment does seem a bit naive. I’ll revisit that with a bottle of Arran 18 I’ve been hoarding from around that time.
@islay_emissary controversial! I have to say I think Arran is best un-adulterated. Did you get to try the 15 yo rare casks? Magic stuff.
I bet if I took another run at this I would score at least 4star. I have raised my score on the excellent 10 yr so no doubt this would follow. i really need to try the 18
That’s a great value for this. Not seeing it much cheaper than $70. I’d like to try it but I’ll probably hold out some more.
@Ctrexman - spent 4 days on the isle of Arran 2 years ago. Sampled everything we could get our hands on. Liked their 18yo best. Impressive distillery with a new 2nd distillery at Lagg on the south end of island. They use a lot of 1st fill, high quality casks that accentuate the heat and oak. A little water is often needed.