Arran 18 Years Old 1st Release

Whisky Review

• Arran distillery
• Isle of Arran Distillers
• 46% ABV
• £75.79

What they say:

We are delighted to present our first ever official Arran 18 year-old – the one that everyone has been waiting for! This limited edition is the introduction of an 18 year-old into our core range of Single Malts. We are so proud to finally be able to release our first 18 year-old as a small, independent distillery – it’s an unusual thing for many people to have been able to follow a Distillery from birth to age 18! This bottling is the final bottling in a trilogy of 16, 17 & 18 year-old Single Malts which have been limited to 9,000 bottles each. It will be available on our web site from Monday 16th March, priced at £72.99. There will be a limit of 2 bottles per transaction on our web site as the number available from there is limited. Our worldwide distributors will also be stocking this whisky, so you should be able to find it in a specialist whisky retailer near you. If you are struggling to locate a bottle, e-mail us at info@arranwhisky.com and we will be happy to help! Here are the long-awaited tasting notes:

Colour: Deep polished gold.

Aroma: Baked peaches with honey and toasted almonds. Sherry cask charring and subtle spice

Palate: Waxy and coating with warmth of crystallised ginger and sweetness of crème brulee and caramelised brown sugar. Water uncovers floral notes, macadamia nuts and Seville orange marmalade.

Finish: Hazelnuts and nougat mingle with lightly toasted brioche and toffee apples.

What I say:

The pinnacle of the current Arran range is this limited edition 18 year old, the first we hope of many more batches to come and also a precursor to perhaps a 20, 21 or even 25 year old official release coming in the future?

Colour:

Rich and refractive umber gold (10/20)

Nose:

Coffee and chocolate malt, toffee, toasted almonds, floral and a little herbal, spiced cinnamon, clove, sage, fruity plum, peach, cereal barley flour, wheaty and oaty, more biscuits and golden syrup flapjacks

Taste:

Thick and mealy, quite chewy on the palate, flapjacks, oats, golden syrup and touches of butter, rich crème brulee with vanilla, chocolate and also espresso coffee, old leather armchairs, nutty almonds, hazelnuts and chestnuts all roasted, wisps of floral heather

Finish:

Medium-long, toffee, nutty, spiced and zesty with cinnamon and nutmeg

Overall:

This 18 year old Arran delivers plenty of sherried spicy toasted oak and a fruity zest to that core cereal malt of the Arran distillate. If anything we found this one to be less fruity-sweet than their younger expressions as it has developed a deep- dark sweetness with age.

Score: 89/100

Don’t Take My Word For It:

TOModera’s Whisky Reviews Arran 18 Year Old