dhsilv2
Arran 21 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 12, 2020 (edited April 20, 2021)
So due to price and at least bare min quality standards I figured I' give this one a go. Shockingly little detail is out there on this bottle. Their is ZERO information about the whisky in the bottle on the fairy large all be it not great box. It's so bad that I'm kinda annoyed.
Nose - orchard fruits, saw dust, and some hints of a wine cask but not getting there. Normally, I'd be concerned that this is closed off as i'm just opening it but I don't get that impression from arran's and it doesn't smell closed off. Overall it is like a lot of independent bourbon cask only bottlings from spey or highlands, just light fruits and some oak notes. But it's soft and lacking some of the better qualities.
Taste - Up front there is almost nothing to talk about. It's sweet and has some fruity elements. It's boring as it can be. But then you swallow and things change. Salty elements come out, hints of peat, tannins and custards and rich vanilla. The finish is really complex and doesn't just save this whisky but pulls it from the brink of mixer status and turns it squarely into a high quality dram. The finish is legit long which is crazy at 46% and the finish brings me into this springbank kinda world.
I'm a bit torn on the score. The finish is that of a 4.0 whisky. The rest of this thing however is struggling for a 1. Even the nose is insanely boring. The mouth feel is ok, but not great.
Normally, I pass on the water with 46, but for the review. Instantly it's bringing out more fruits and improving the nose. Still nothing special coming out, just the same notes but more of them and a bit more alcohol. Similarly I'm getting more sweetness but the finish is fading a bit and that's the show.
Yeah I'm going with a 2.75. I thought I was going 3.0 but nope.
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I think jack Daniel suits u better .
@Jan-Case well 2.0 is my average so these are getting scored as pretty good but not special bottles. My biggest complaint is the nose isn't doing anything for me on this one. I think I value finish and nose over the up front taste and here I get a mixed bag of I can't smell much and wow that's a nice finish.
@dhsilv2 it seems like the subjectivity on Arran in general is really high. I just poured myself a rare dram of my 21y bottle yesterday after having read your notes just to see if I remember being so much off - but I liked it as much as it being a solid 4 for my personal enjoyment. Are there better 21y / 18y old whiskies out there? For sure there are even at a lower cost. Does it have its flaws? Indeed it has. Is the price justified? Probably not for some people. I still am not regretting getting it for 90 something Euros on sale and still enjoy it a lot. Same goes for the 18y. But I can understand some people discontent with it. Oh - also today I ordered two more bottles of the 21y but these ones are the Explorer series bottles (Lochranza Castle and Kildonan & Pladda Island). I had one of them before and they have again typical Arran character with a much more refined and intense flavor profile. I did that in honor of me paying my last rate of my student loan.
@Jan-Case whisky base scores on this aren't exactly super high either. I'm not sure I'm all that far off from their opinion, perhaps a few points lower but I also don't factor in price or at least I try to not.
Wow, Arran really doesn’t float your boat. I personally really like it but that is how very different individual receptions can be.
That's a fascinating outcome. I don't think I've every had a whisky with such an underwhelming nose and palate yet such a fantastic finish.