Arran 18 Year

Nose: Warming, hearty malt, beef bouillon, stewed prunes, fig jam, vanilla, clean fragrant wood, daydreams of oloroso and PX sherry. A very pleasant and fullsome nose indeed. Palate: Sweet for a fraction of a second on the arrival (coffee crystals? Demerara sugar?), then gaining a little heat and ginger spice as it moves into a dry development with the foundation malt surging to centre stage. A fruity change mid-development as dried apple, baked peach, preserved figs, sweet dark chocolate, dark cherries and slightly bitter orange appear followed by a quick return of the lighter sugary sweet notes from the arrival. The texture is mouth-coating and full but balanced by mild astringency from some supple and very adroitly handled tannin. There is a very subtle liquorice note in the background that is supurb. Finish: Long. Malt extract, dusky fruit and bittersweet citrus, fading into a satisfying aftertaste that keeps rolling along with lingering sherry influences. Lovely whisky with excellent progression. I last reviewed this here in mid-2019 but that was for the old bottling, which was quite different in my opinion. It had a drier character and the body was heftier and almost chewy. This expression is softer and shows more citrus tones, and it is also slightly sweeter and more “rounded”. The sherry cask influence is exemplary - at no time do you notice sherry as a component but its influence permeates every part of this very good whisky’s profile and is the basis for all the complexity and evolution that happens. Tasted from a 15ml sample. I was about to order a bottle but then saw the local price. It’s worth it and if I was a devotee of sherry maturation I'd buy one, but I can get Ledaig 18 and many other 18 year olds that are just as good for 2/3 the price so I don’t feel that compelled to have a bottle. Mind you, at $300 this stuff makes a laughingstock of contemporary Macallan 18. The real annoyance is that in the UK this sells for the equivalent of AUD$150. Grumble, grumble ... “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally reviewed July 13, 2019 Note: This is a review of a 2018 bottle of Arran 18, which was a tall bottle with a gold and blue label. That image used to appear as the thumbnail for this listing but a while back Distiller replaced it with a picture of the new bottle style. This is misleading because the new 18 year old whisky is different in style. A new listing should have been made. Nose: Malt, rye bread, sourdough bread, walnuts - it's almost like the nose of a full-bodied stout or porter. There are fruity aromas (green apple and lemon juice) but they are dry rather than sweet and absolutely not floral. There are also grassy herbal notes. It starts off a little reticent but it's a very pleasing nose that develops excellently over time. As it rests in the glass a faint notion of sherry cask comes to mind. Palate: Sweet, rich creamy malt arrival that is voluptuous and soothing with spices that are warming rather than hot or bright. The development has some sweet stewed fruits and a flinty mineral note. There is a dry foundation under the sweetness that gives everything grip, but the very prominent sweet fruitiness of the earlier 18 year old is not present. Like the nose, the palate brings to mind a full, dark beer made from chocolate-roast malt. The texture is oily, chewy and seductive. Finish: Medium/long. The crisp malty palate subsides into a sweet aftertaste with the slightest hint of fennel or anise and a drop of lemon juice. The lingering aftertaste is uncannily like a milk stout. This whisky is the successor to the 2015 Arran 18 Year Old "Pure by Nature" expression which was a limited release and the last of a trio of special releases (16, 17 and 18 years old). This whisky showcases the mature malty side of the Arran distillate. I don't know the precise cask combination but I'd guess there is a focus on refill bourbon with a smaller proportion of refill sherry casks. Unlike the 14 year old this is most decidedly not a sweet fruit basket and the focus here is squarely on the malty character, which is reminiscent of Belgian dark fruit beers. The addition of water slightly emphasizes grassy, herbal notes but on the whole I think it spoils the whisky. This is quite delicious neat, and best taken that way. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars) 200.0 AUD per Bottle

Arran is one of my favorite distilleries. Most of the different expressions I had were really awesome. I also really am digging the new design and the direction Arran is heading to with their own variations and experiments as well as with their sister distillery “Lagg” that is only producing peated whisky. (The Machrie Moor already was a really nice peated bottle.) So after I had the 12y I immediately got a bottle of the 18y and 21y each, which are more different that I was expecting. It has the very likable nose of Arran with a great fruitiness that is based in the sherry finish. There is dominantly dried apricots, some raisins but also a nice earthiness like wet clay. Then cranberries, black currant, banana peel, light vanilla. It also has some green tea qualities. And to top it all off: a great spice mix, which I realized is what generally makes a whisky great for me - a balance of sweetness and deep spices. When it hits the palate you immediately get nice oak soaked in dark red fruits / sherry. You can’t really tell if it is sweet or sour or even slightly bitter. It is right in the middle of these tastes and that balance makes me really like this whisky. There is dark berries conveyed in a woody syrupy texture, candied nuts (“gebrannte Mandeln” that are very popular in Germany) and then only in the end a spicy heat like cooked chilis. Later the nose become very chocolaty. But in the end it all finishes in a long and ongoing spicy fruitiness with great sherry oak. Man, what a good whisky and noticeably different to the 21y. This is a whisky you don’t wanna miss. It has many sides and a lot to discover. It also develops very nicely over the course of a dram, where it starts of fruity and sherry sweet with nice spices and near the bottom of the glas it becomes more deep, smooth and rich and loses a lot of the sweetness and becomes much more spicy almost savory. I also got this bottle on sale for only 70$ but I would pay more than this without any hesitation.

OK so I've now figured it out. This is a 2019 which is HEAVILY sherried cause the color is crazy dark, the bottle of course doesn't say a dang thing about it. The 2018 I gave a 2.0 is less sherry but still has plenty. Ok so is this one better? Nose - caramel, salt, tannins, oak, raisins. You can tell this is a heavy sherried whisky but and this is a neck pour but it's a bit closed off. We'll see if this opens up and I'll update. Taste - you can tell this is heavily sherried but these aren't great casks. Yeah you get some chocolate and raisin and some dark fruity esters. The malt here is actually pretty dry. Where this and all arrans seem to shine is on the finish where that island and peat and salt elements jump up and save the day. The finish is this explosive array of wonderful and then it turns AGAIN into chocolates and oak. So for science water, and the nose....just brings out oak. The flavor brings out a milk chocolate up front but kinda kills the finish....or mutes it. Water might be good if you don't like the upfront finish but otherwise pass. Ok so I do like this a hair more than the 2018 but I like more sherry on my whisky in general. 2.5 and to be honest I could go 3.0 here. It's above average for sure and I think the last bottle needs a boost on the score. You know what 2.75 Update - lets get into this. OK so I'm still not sure what these casks are doing or not. How is this so dark and not just sherry saturated to hell? The thing is the malt, that salty coastal element, etc...they're great. And the sherry is big enough to match but not even close to over powering. This is a dream in today's world of oak stuffed bad casks or sulfured egg fart bottles. The flavor on this one is light vs most bottles I give higher scores to and normally I want peat mixed in. But I'm wrong to underrate this one. I'm moving this to a 3.25. These arran 18's are stunners. They're also CRAZY easy to drink.

Nose - Right away sherry and charred american oak barrels jump out to me. Sweet fruits with roasted vanilla and caramel. There's a light note of either peat or salt, I don't know much about Arran but perhaps it's coastal or they use the ever so slightest amount of peat. Shoulda looked at the bottle, but it's an island so that makes perfect sense. Overall there's a more rustic and older more hearty malt nose but the lower abv at 46 is leaving me a bit flat at the end. Still very interesting nose that keeps me coming back. Taste - This takes me back to the charred american oak though instead of richer sweetness it's more soft oak tannins with some richness in that french vanilla toasted sugar range, but more focus on the toasted barrel flavor. Then we get sea salt and chocolate with little hints of fruits at most. There's a slightly bitter/metallic note that brings me back to a springbank type dram, a very nice complement. There's a touch of a waxy muted note. Overall a well made 18 year old whisky at a reasonable all be it a bit low proof. So the verdict? Will I buy another bottle? Nope. Would I be happy to get a free bottle? Yep. Will I happily finish this bottle? You're damn right. So 2.0 it's a pretty average whisky in today's world of quality drams. After some time open I'm upping to 2.5, that finish is still a step up.

Nose: I could sit here and pick out different notes all day! There is so much here. Such a wonderful nose! Dates, raisins, prunes, dark cherries, orange, grape jelly, haribo cola gummies (yes!), dr. Pepper, sticky toffee pudding, almonds, cranberries, some floral notes, black licorice Palate: cherry, raisins, dates, figs, cola gummies, orange, ginger, oak, leather, licorice, dark chocolate Finish: dark chocolate, figs, dr. Pepper, orange, cranberry, ginger, nutmeg, raisins, balsamic, leather I’ve never had a whisky quite like this! All the flavors blend so well. It has a nice creamy texture. Nothing off-putting. It seems to be a great Christmas dram. Plus, I get a little nostalgic with the nose/flavor of haribo cola gummies.

I really wasn't prepared enough for Arran when i tasted the 14yo and i reviewed it with a low score then. This Arran 18yo is absolutely amazing and brings my faith back to this brand. On the nose is perfect. Blackberry marmalade, COTTON CANDY (wow), Cherry, Honey; just Wonderful. On the palate, a Honey note. Very Powerful dram as the 14yo, Peppery, tongue makes that "Crazy Dips feeling", Prunes, Oakyness, very Complex. Finish id strong and full of character with ginger notes. Beautifully balanced. Overall i give this recommended beauty a 93 over 100.