Arran (Isle of Arran)

The Arran Barrel Reserve is a new expression from this West-coast Scottish distillery, carefully selected from a small number of barrels that show its classic style - wonderfully fruity, honeyed and with a lush vanilla scent and flavour.

Arran Port Cask Finish provides a rich and complex expression bursting with flavours of dried fruits, hazelnuts and oranges. Carefully selected Port casks give a sweet finish to compliment Arran's traditional light and fruity style.

After an initial maturation in first fill ex Bourbon barrels, this unpeated spirit from Lochranza has been re racked into what are known as ?quarter casks? which are just 125 litres in volume. This increases the contact the spirit has with the oak and resulting in a more robust and intense maturation. Inviting aromas of rich vanilla, full bodied cinnamon and peppery spice combine with an initially fruit forward tropical palette and an abundance of sweet oaky spice result in this cask strength expression being intensely full bodied and perfectly balanced.

After initially maturing in traditional oak casks over a number of years, this expression of Arran has been finished in a selection of Amarone wine casks sourced from an artisan producer of this iconic Italian red wine. The finish introduces bigger and richer flavours to Arran, with dark chocolate, cherry and Turkish delights are evident as are stewed fruits and toffee. Arran's light and delicate distillery character remains present, James MacTaggart has cleverly allowed for the wood influence to compliment, rather than dominate.

After initially maturing in traditional oak casks for approximately 8 years, The Arran Single Malt in this bottling was finished in a selection of Sauternes wine casks sourced from an artisan producer of this iconic Bordeaux sweet white wine. There are notes of honeysuckle, melon and marzipan on the nose, which continues to develop on the palate with rich honey and vanilla flavours.

A real hidden gem from Arran?s Lochranza distillery, the ?Bodega? Sherry Cask has been matured exclusively in first fill ex-Sherry Hogsheads hailing from Jerez, Spain. Bottled at the cask?s natural strength at 55.8%, the ?Bodega? is incredibly well layered with intense aromas of crystalised ginger, sun ripened figs and stewed cherries, reminiscent of Christmas mince pies. The figs make a return on the palate, alongside lashings of dark chocolate, sweet baking spices and hints of mandarin.

A superb example of all that is good about Arran. A vanilla sweetness gives way to kiwi, banana and melon, with a hint of cocoa powder. A very mellow dram with a delicate nose but a weighty and oily palate, sweetness softened by gentle woody tones.