tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post564576350441153197..comments2024-03-16T11:28:41.525-04:00Comments on Diving for Pearls: Single Malt Report: Arran 10 year oldMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288790197865570681noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-5847533074763772312014-03-31T17:05:40.061-04:002014-03-31T17:05:40.061-04:00Hi Simon! Sorry for the delay, I was out of town f...Hi Simon! Sorry for the delay, I was out of town for a few days. Thank you for comment!<br /><br />Congrats on getting in on their distillery back then. Without bond holders like you, we wouldn't have all these great Arran whiskies now. They could have bottled something for you all after three years and it would have technically been a single malt, but it's likely the stuff would have been quite fully baked yet. Probably very spirity and new make-ish instead. Perhaps at five years the whisky hit a good point for that Founder's Reserve. Due the Lochranza blend's release date, I think some three year old malt may have gone into that one.<br /><br />Please email me at divingforpearlsblog at gmail dot com and maybe we can arrange something. Thank you!Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-66818362954951755202014-03-29T07:48:58.289-04:002014-03-29T07:48:58.289-04:00Hey - I was one of those "bond-holders”, bac...Hey - I was one of those "bond-holders”, back in the days when I was a real whisky enthusiast myself. After an inexplicable loss of interest lasting several years, I recently rediscovered the taste for whisky and you can imagine my delight in finding an EMBARRASSING number of bond-holder bottles in the back of the cupboard in the spare bedroom.<br /><br />You’re right, the bond-holder scheme was to raise quick cash for the building of the new distillery on Arran. The main attraction was the promise of the Arran Founder’s Reserve http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/arran-founders-reserve-whisky/?srh=1 -but we had to wait for this to be matured for the minimum period (5 years?) in order to qualify as a true single malt in 2001. There was, of course, no guarantee that the whisky would make the grade in what was a very demanding and competitive market. <br /><br />In the meantime, they made us the Lochranza Founder’s Reserve blend http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/arran/lochranza-founders-reserve-whisky/ -which I have been using for cooking!<br /><br />What’s the best way to send you a sample? You know you want to taste this piece of history!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-20177882169865000732013-06-14T13:41:45.990-04:002013-06-14T13:41:45.990-04:00Yeah, I'm not sure how relevant the regions ar...Yeah, I'm not sure how relevant the regions are anymore with so many distilleries experimenting with different styles. And the new distilleries aren't necessarily keeping with the regional characteristics. There are great low-to-no-peat whiskies being made on Islay and great peated stuff coming from the Highlands. Perhaps the regional designations will remain for local pride reasons, or for marketing purposes.Diving for Pearlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373371259792882112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-6846928147977532332013-06-13T20:43:23.811-04:002013-06-13T20:43:23.811-04:00Check with them again in 100 years, they might be ...Check with them again in 100 years, they might be more alike. Alfred Barnard's book has some pictures and descriptions of Springbank from about 1890, and they seemed to be almost exactly the same as what you'd encounter today 125 years later - including the output capacity and the layout of the buildings. When you drink Springbank you touch and taste history, but unfortunately they are unique this way. Well, on a much larger scale and in a much smaller sense this is true with all single malt Scotch, and this is part of what makes it so special. Also why people tend to love small distilleries much more than huge industrial ones.Florinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445344658258056628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3101162324715983722.post-81208803668003622882013-06-13T01:58:22.970-04:002013-06-13T01:58:22.970-04:00Arran 10 really surprised me when I purchased a mi...Arran 10 really surprised me when I purchased a mini. For a neighbor of Campbeltown, I expected a flavor profile closer to Springbank but it tasted more like a Speyside whisky. Maybe it's time to throw out the regions.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13215982348779717643noreply@blogger.com