Arran Master of Distilling II The Man with the Golden Glass

Arran tasting night at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 12 July 2019. Whisky #5 Nose: The nose features tropical fruits (mango, papaya, orange, banana) but they have a uniform over-aged and sickly, fusty aroma. It reminded me of a fruit bowl where the contents are just one day shy of rotting. There were also aromas of boiled cauliflower, boiled cabbage, old socks and some very broadly painted sherry aromas with a strongly walnut and red grape character. Palate: A semi-sweet arrival that is very grapey and rather drying. Yeasty, doughy white bread, strongly flavoured butter, bitter orange oil, cider vinegar and again a massive dry wine presence. The texture was full. Finish: Medium. A prominent semi-sweet sherry aftertaste. A very expressive, but for my palate not very attractive, single malt. The sherry note is big but aged and dusty, full of flavor but also dry and with an odd furry note. It's not like any sherry-matured or finished whisky I've tasted before. The casks used to mature this whisky were hand picked by James McTaggart (the Arran head distiller) from decommissioned solera casks at a Spanish sherry bodega (I was told the name but I can't recall it). This bodega produces palo cortado, which was historically an amontillado or fino that went wrong and was re-purposed to create a semi-sweet sherry. However nowadays palo cortado is an intentionally crafted product that is midway between amontillado and oloroso. Almost all sherry matured or sherry finished whisky is aged in seasoned casks and it is rare to use solera casks. They are difficult to obtain and can be unpredictable, either having a deep and robust quality but just as likely as much character as a steel tank. I'm sure there are some enthusiasts who would have a very different opinion to mine and would consider this a rare and uniquely profiled dram. However I was not at all partial to it, and I'm scoring it according to my immediate subjective impression. "Adequate" : 73/100 (2.25 stars)

Revisiting after some time and only a few drams left in the bottle. I really like this whisky. I know there aren’t many out there who share this opinion but this the kind of whisky I like if it isn’t peated. Especially for a 12y age statement this is really rich and interesting. Nose: After pouring and letting it breathe for some minutes it spreads a nice chocolate note. From the glass directly you get a super interesting and intensified nose with soft sour juicy fruits, caramelized hazelnuts and creamy fudge with some vanilla creme brûlée. It has a very sweet nose which can be off putting for some individuals but I really like it for that. It has a nice fresh sourness as well which gives it a proper young note as well, but the alcohol (from a Norlan glas) on the nose is just at a right spot. Palate: first hard toffee candy with a intense sweetness - then it gets quite hot and sharp with flavors of sour patches, fresh fruit salad, and roasted chili-nuts - after about half a minute on the palate it becomes creamy, quite malty and very nutty (hazelnut nougat creme) with a mild chocolate note as well. It isn’t too sweet at least for my taste. The alcohol with its nearly 52% ABV is prominent but leaves enough space to let all the flavors develop nicely if you give it time in the mouth. The finish is roasted cocoa nibs, really quite woody, cold coffee, nut shells, burned sugar and a chili coat in the back of the throat. After a while it leaves a metallic sensation in the mouth. A great interesting and intense whisky for its age. I always am happy to return to it. A shame not many like it really. I already have a second bottle waiting that I - once this one is empty - I will return to in a year or two and see if it still holds up.

Nose: pungent, like a swipe in the nostrils, malt, wood, sherry, but also pine and pine cones forest, pine resin. Palate: always this Scots pine that pervades the mouth, with honey, malt, candied oranges. Warm and enveloping but unfortunately with a bitter aftertaste of "corked". Final: see above, corked and bitter, unfortunately long enough because it leaves an unpleasant taste. Rating 3.50 _______________________________________________________________ Naso: pungente, come una sciabolata nelle narici, malto, legno, sherry, ma anche foresta di pini e pigne, resina di pino. Palato: sempre questo pino silvestre che pervade la bocca, con miele, malto, arance candite. Caldo ed avvolgente ma purtroppo con retrogusto amarognolo di “tappato”. Finale: vedi sopra, tappato ed amarognolo, purtroppo abbastanza lungo perché lascia un sapore non piacevole. Voto 3,50

I really didn’t enjoy this one , it had an off putting sour note from the Sherry. Very disappointed

Lacking depth. Plenty of sherry notes but it doesn’t add much in itself

Tastes a little chocolatey smells more boozy than it feels. Very good