Arran 14 Year Old

Arran 14 Year Old

Arran is a relatively new distillery, founded in 1993. Besides its single malts, it also crafts the Robert Burns blends (his birthplace, Alloway, lies across the water), which I've never tried. I believe it is the only distillery on the island (though of course there used to be many more). The 14 Year Old is non chill filtered and of natural...

Score 85/100

Arran 14 Year Old

This one was finished in fresh bourbon and sherry hogsheads for two years before it was bottled. The result is a sweet and fruity dram. Now for the notes: Nose: Tropical fruits galore, strong balsamic on teh nose too. After 5 minutes of letting it rest in the glass, all that balsamic is gone, and we get some lovely apples, barley, wood. Wonderful...

Score 85/100

Arran 14 Year Old

My 5th Arran review, after the Original, the 10yo, the Amarone, and an IB. Overall the 14yo falls only behind the IB. First vapor: Floral and grass; the sweet scent of walking into a florist's greenhouse. Nose: That Arran grass & vanilla on unsalted butter. But this time there is nectarine added. A bit of breathing reveals walnut-- and the...

Score 83/100

Arran 14 Year Old

Arran distillery is only 15 years old, so a 14 year old can be seen as a milestone. On the long term, the core range should consist of a 10, 14 and 18 year old. The 14 Year Old was re-racked into fresh bourbon barrels and fresh sherry hogsheads two years ago – two-thirds into American oak and one-third into European oak. They wanted the classic...

Score 84/100