Arran - Single Malt Scotch Whisky Non Chill Filtered Natural Colour 10 Years Old (700ml)
Price: $77.99
| Producer | Arran |
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| Country | Scotland |
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| Region | SCOtland |
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| Style | Scotch Whisky |
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| Sku | 35222 |
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Arran Description
Nose: Oh Arran 10 year. I missed you! One of the most characterful 10-12 year single malts, for sure. Rich graham crackers with a drizzle of honey to start. Lots of malted cereal notes although not as strong in that department as the Deanston 12 year. A burst of tropical fruit flavours swoops in next. Very pineapple-forward with mandarine orange not too far behind. I’m even getting a touch of honeydew melon and mango. Now it’s time for some orchard fruit in the form of freshly cut Gala apples and pears. Dark chocolate-covered candied ginger is at the very end. There’s more in here, but honestly, I have to draw the line somewhere and go in for a sip!
Palate: This is an experience that is patient, more than anything else. Lots of orange vanilla cream and honey on the entry. Perfect combination of sweet and sour. This transitions to that malted cereal and graham cracker I got on the nose. (As an aside, I’m finding the graham cracker note surprising as it was something I didn’t experience in a big way when I was drinking this bottle. My palate was still developing when I was first drinking this one, I guess). The individual tropical fruits are a little hard to pick out as they are only dominant for a short while before the spices turn up during the second half of the development. Let’s be lazy and call it 100% tropical fruit juice and be done with it (spirit reviewers are allowed to be lazy once in a while, you know). The ginger and cinnamon tingle the tongue, but don’t drown out the other flavours. Poached pear with chocolate sauce shows up at the end. It’s pretty obvious that these are all first fill ex-Bourbon barrels. Re-fill casks simply don’t pack the punch that I’m experiencing here.
Finish: Poached pear, dark chocolate, ginger, and cracked black pepper are the stars of the show here. The spice is more dominant at the end of the finish, which takes a long time to fade.
