Arran Brodick Bay 20 Year

In june 2018, Arran released a series of expressions called "The Explorer Series". In the labels of this new collection, you can find different scenes from the Isle of Arran, that show its nature and most popular places. Brodick bay is the first release, a 20 year old single malt, matured in bourbon and sherry casks, to then be finished in an oloroso sherry butt. Bottled at 49.8%abv, with a honey color. This is a limited release of 9.000 bottles. On the nose, it is just perfect from the moment you uncork it. Espectacular honey aroma. Coffee beans, hazelnut, homemade toffee. Thick sweet bee honey.There is a ghostly red fruitiness and Vanilla biscuits. After a first sip, a floral aroma has appeared, adding itself to everything else. The other aromas didn't fade, it just added a lot of things. Sawdust, recently baked Brownies. Cherry syrup just appeared. The toffee here is just fantastic. Even some citric aromas are rising. After a couple of sips, all the tropical and red fresh fruits have overpowered everything else. This is a fantastic aroma. On the palate it is very pleasant. Instant melting marshmallows, vanilla, salt, pepper, some very pleasant spiciness, and the typical arran pineapple. A second sip felt very maritime, like sea water; i have never experienced that in an arran before. The tropical fruits rise after a couple of seconds. Coconut. After a couple of sips, it tastes like the milk left in the plate after you finished your cereal, lots of spices. Very latic. Cherry syrup. Aftertaste wasn't as great, but still gets a nice score. Hay, ginger, very dry. A Pineapple heart (the one you should not eat); Very long lasting. A secomd sip gave me sawdust, its like licking a new white wood stave. Cotton candy has appeared. Overall, this is a great dram. A solid, fancy, tropical single malt. It has the best of the Arran Profile and manages to show the salty scene from the bay shown in the label. A wonderful whisky, my score for it is 91 over 100. Slàinte!

Nose - Ripe pears, oranges, creamy caramel, buttery toffee, hint of salt (w/ water) Same with a hint more salt Taste - Ripe pears, creamy caramel, salt, raisins, buttery toffee, honey, oranges (w/ water) Adds a layer of fruity spice, but sort of ruins the nice creamy/buttery mouthfeel Finish - Gentle warming heat, still buttery cream, rich fruity caramel, baked pears, raisins, orange zest (w/ water) Same Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - This was a very nicely done sherried Arran. It had a great mouthfeel and nice poached/baked pear notes that dominated, but were nicely complemented with creamy/buttery caramel/toffee. It had a great mouthfeel and it wasn't overly sweet. Nice hints of raisin and orange that just balanced everything out. Quite a nice pour and something I could see myself enjoying all year round. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Not a bad dram. Not a lot going on though. Solid

Superb nose, great finish.