Isle of Arran 11yo 1999/2010 (54.6%, OB, 15th Anniversary, Amontillado, 5,640 Bts.)

“This Limited Edition of 5,640 Bottles Marks The 15th Anniversary of The Isle of Arran Distillery” Distilled in 1999 and bottled 2010 and finished in Amontillado Casks.

The nose undiluted is sherried and malty along with some honey. It grows with time in the glass to reveal more of the afore mentioned characteristics and now some really pleasant oak spice. The malt and the honey work really well together (like a good Athol Brose made with cream and Drambuie) now perhaps a little clove in the back ground? It’s very rich and quite excellent. With water there is a significant increase in the malty biscuity characteristics. The taste undiluted is strong, fizzy malt and the sherry (quite different to Oloroso), still very flavourful but rich in a slightly more musty fashion (this is not a bad thing) and then a really big malt and cocoa delivery. Oh, this is very nice. With water (just a good sized dollop) it is much the same as before except with the addition of some tobacco notes. The finish is honeyed malt, more of the sherry and then some quite dry sherry/honey notes. It’s long and good with the malt and sherry working really well together but in the end the dry oak spice/cocoa takes over and waves goodbye as it disappears over the horizon.

Excellent! And proof positive that finishing can indeed work.

$C90

Score 88 points

Left-Sauternes Center-Amarone Right -Port

These next three bottlings are part of the newly liveried Cask Finish Series released in the later part of 2010 with colourful tubes in place of the black boxes with the open ‘faces’ but still the same whisky one is forced to conclude. None are chill filtered or have added colouring.

Isle of Arran NAS (50%, OB, Sauternes, “Cask Finish”, +/-2010)

The undiluted nose is characteristically malty along with some wood spice, citrus and then the richness of warm plump raisins, over ripe fruit (not rotting but like a pear that has been on the counter a day or two past its prime) and then in the back ground a slight hint of sour cherries and some grapefruit. Once again time in the glass improves the collection of aromas and they start working together, a little more harmony. The grapefruit is significant after a while and somewhat suppresses the biscuity malt notes. Water releases some extra sweetness and some Olive oil aromas. The undiluted taste is surprisingly gentle at first with the grapefruit in the fore and then it becomes exceptionally dry at a pace that is surprising and distracting. There’s a slight bitterness present also (like the ‘nut’ inside a plum stone) but finally the Arran malt makes an appearance but the Sauternes has squashed the malt some what. The taste improves significantly with water, a better balance between the malt and the Sauternes effect. The finish is bitter at first (raw almonds?) and then thankfully the malt arrives but never quite wins over the bitterness (at first) but then struggles back. A bit of confusion here. The finish is quite long and still grapefruit bitter (not like the bitter in coca at all). A bit of a surprise with this since other Sauternes have worked quite well. With water some coca (and malt) magically makes an appearance and saves the finish.

Needs water. Needs water. Needs water.

$77

Score 79 points

Isle of Arran NAS (50%, OB, Port, “Cask Finish”, +/-2010)

The undiluted nose is fruity and rich backed by hints of bacon (!) and then some really good malt along with some slightly green herbaceous notes. A little hand warming merely makes the aromas bigger (and warmer) but not too much else emerges but it is quite nice none the less. Perhaps a little one dimensional?  With water the Arran malt pops out but the fruits never stray very far. The taste without water is very sweet and fruity, QUITE excellent! Cocoa, malt, hints of fruit cake, raisins, and strawberries. Oh, very nice and then quite dry, some of the malt pushes through after a short while. Hints of coconut and orange but they are late to the party but welcome none the less. With water it’s much smoother and quite nice, a good mix of the fruit and the malt. The finish is once again sweet and then malty while being quite big. It’s very warming and very long. The port really adds some welcome fruit to the finish; the malt is masked or muted. The finish is exceptionally long and after a number of minutes it’s still there working away. Quite Arran malty towards the end along with some lingering tobacco. A good 10 minutes later and the finish is still lingering…the malt has finally won.

Some water is welcome and the fruit aspect is very nice. Well done.

$77

Score 83 points

Isle of Arran NAS (50%, OB, Amarone, “Cask Finish”, +/-2010)

Shockingly pink, looks a lot like Bruichladdich Black Arts. Curious. The undiluted nose is of tinned fruit cocktail along with some hidden sour cherries and some honeyed malt. A little restrained perhaps. With some water it’s a bit mellower with some slight industrial notes. The undiluted taste is actually quite gentle for 50% and is quite dry. Hints of heather, lovage and pizza dough (just a hint) and some good malt. With some water things begin to look up considerably and all start puling together, this is really nice but the addition of some water is the key. The finish brings out some really good Fry’s unsweetened cocoa and some spicy wood notes, once again it’s very long and vibrant with the flavours all jostling for position. After a minute or two the Arran malt arrives and the finis ends on a high note. Some good chocolate too.

A it of a struggle here and there, all good notes but perhaps a little struggle to integrate them?

$77

Score 80 points

Isle of Arran 14yo (46%, OB, 2010)

The oldest officially released bottle of Arran to date and a mere step away from a 15yo…

The nose is very nice with some syrup from tinned peaches, some slight hints of leather or tobacco and some lovely malt but this is a much sweeter Isle of Arran on the nose. There is also some heather, fresh hay and then some nice oak spice.  The taste is …. Oh my, it’s very good. There are some very good sherry characteristics which are working very well with the malt. This is lovely whisky. A little bit of green pepper notes lurking in there too, this adds another dimension to the whole package. It is all very well integrated. The sherry has helped and has not dominated the whisky, enhanced to be precise (not to be confused with finishing). The finish is vibrant, peppery and malt along with some really very nice oak spice notes and then a  really quick moment of bitter cocoa and then pow! some sweet malt. A little lime chili in there also?

$76

Score 85 points

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Isle of Arran 10yo 1998/2009 (55.8%, for Victoria Single Malt Club, Sherry, C#374, 321 Bts.) 88 Points

A single cask bottling for a club! How exciting! The nose is at first blush sherried and malty however it must be a refill cask since the colour is indicative of this. There are also some herbaceous and malt dust notes which is very pleasant, quite a sensational nose. Oh well done clever people! With water a little coconut but it all holds together rather well. The taste is peppery, quite sweet, sherried and then a blast of dryness with a tinge of cocoa. It is really rather excellent. With water the pepper takes a back seat to sherry which opens up very nicely and it’s still quite dry but still very good. Lots of fruit, hints of leather and tobacco along with oak spice. The finish is cocoa, malt, pepper and hints of freshly cut hay, a little citrus and it’s very long and vibrant. About mid finish some really good malt shows up. It’s very chewy and quite excellent (apologies for the repetitive use of ‘excellent’).

A wonder dram from Isle of Arran distillery. Vibrant, complex, loads of flavour and…excellent. Malt and sherry, a match made in heaven. (Jim Murray scored this bottling 94 points and awarded it a Liquid Gold Award).

$100 +/-

Score 90 points

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Isle of Arran 11yo 1995/2007 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC, Sherry HHD, C#3931, 355 Bts.)

Another single cask Arran and also a sherried refill hogshead with more colour. The nose has more fruit and less malt however the malt is there lurking in the back ground but slightly closed. A little hand warming brings out even more of the rich fruit along with an ever so slight hint of roses and heather. Extremely pleasant. The taste is rich and warming, some really good sherry and then some hints of malt but this is some what muted when compared to other Arran. The sherry really takes over and it works quite well, hints of vanilla and white pepper along with some oak spice and chili? The finish is sweet and then suddenly quite dry and spicy for a while and then the sweet comes back. The finish is very long with some creaminess in the later stages and suddenly the characteristic Arran biscuity malt arrives…

$85

Score 88 points