Arran 21 year old 1996, cask 596 for Spec's

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This week's Arran theme has been Single Casks Bottled For Americans! Today's cask was bottled for Texas liquor retail giant, Spec's. Big news for this one: it's from an ex-bourbon barrel! No sherry touched this one! It also rolls in at 48%abv, which is a sign of either cask weirdness or cask awesomeness. Lemme see what the angels left for Texas.

Distillery: Lochranza (the distillery formerly known as Arran)

Ownership: Isle of Arran Distillers

Age: 21 years (24 June 1996 - 7 Feb 2018)

Maturation: bourbon barrel

Cask #: 596

Outturn: 140 bottles

Exclusive to: Spec's

Alcohol by Volume: 48%

(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Yet another zany nose! At first I get watermelon candy and brown ale, then grapefruit + anise + mint. Finally it eases into Rainier cherries and vanilla beans. The palate starts off very butterscotchy, then shifts to orange candy and caramel. After 30 minutes it descends into flowers and cardboard, remaining hotter than expected. It also finishes a bit hot, and sweet and acidic, with caramel and butterscotch in the distance.

It's youthfully hot, yet also slightly oaky. So, I'll try some water.

DILUTED to ~43%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Though the nose may be more boring, it's also more pulled together with its combo of malt, vanilla, Thai basil, and citronella. Going further down the cask path in the palate. Vanilla up front, bitter oak in the back. Cologne and lime candy. It finishes like a cheap daiquiri slushy, all vanilla, coconut, lime, and sugar.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Again, the palate collapses with a touch of water. Anyway, aside from some of the nose notes, the American oak dominates the whisky. I do enjoy the butterscotch angle, but then it flops into cardboard. Overall, it's a bit of an oddity, especially with the nose's fireworks. With the barrel losing more than 40% of its fluid, and more than 25% of its alcohol, the whisky could have been much worse, but also potentially better. I think the oakiness would appeal to the American palate, or at least the Texan one, so I have no doubt Spec's cleaned their shelves of this one easily.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - I think it was around $170ish in 2018
Rating - 81 (neat)

Arran 16 year old 1997, cask 217 for the USA

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In this cluster's intro I stated my preference for Arran single malt between 10 and 14 years of age, but their single casks can flourish beyond that window. Monday's cask, a 14 year old, will be the youngest of the five casks I'm reviewing for the cluster.

Today's 16 year old cask was part of the "Premium Cask Selection" series that seems to still be chugging along. Cask 217 was part of the 2014 Spring batch of "Premium" casks bottled for the US. Like the other four casks from this cluster, it has a reasonable ABV. In fact, I don't think I've had a single Arran cask that was above 57%, and most are under 55%, which may be why they arrive so comfortably into my system. Anyway, an almost-17-year-old....

Distillery: Lochranza (the distillery formerly known as Arran)

Ownership: Isle of Arran Distillers

Range: Premium Cask Selection

Age: 16 years (17 Feb 1997 - 5 Feb 2014)

Maturation: sherry butt

Cask #: 217

Outturn: 562 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 53.2%

(from a bottle split)

NEAT

A fun nose! Dark chocolate, red Twizzlers, and peaches up front. Almond extract and black walnuts in the middle. Jute and dried apple in the back. The palate starts sweet and tangy (oranges and guavas) with moderate notes of iron and fresh ginger underneath. After 40+ minutes it's all guava and honey. It finishes with oranges, iron, and toasted salted almonds. Extra tart grapefruits appear in later sips.

DILUTED to ~46%abv or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Another one that changes form with moderate dilution. The nose is all honey, marzipan, dried apples, and black raisins. Like Monday's cask, this one gets MUCH oakier on the palate when at 46%abv. Sweet, tannic, peppery, and very almond-y. Just marzipan and black pepper on the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Water brings out too much aggressive oak again so, like its Taste Off partner, the 14yo 2002, this one works much better at full strength, where it's more complex and delicious. Even the metallic note works with the fruit. But nose wins (again) by a significant margin; had the palate matched it, this could have been a 90-pointer. Whiskybase is bereft of notes and ratings for this one. Has anyone else tried it?

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - I don't think it was much more than $100 in 2014.
Rating - 87 (neat)

Arran 14 year old 2002, private cask 2002/587

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While many producers dabble in official single cask releases, Lochranza-based Arran is one of the few distilleries that has truly committed to it. Some of these were private cask purchases that brought the distillers some early revenue, while others have been for individual retailers and bars around the world, and yet more casks have been rolled out for festivals. After two decades, Arran's total single cask count numbers somewhere between 2000 and 3000, but it's difficult to be sure because some private casks, like today's, haven't made it into a public database like Whiskybase.

I've had the pleasure of try about a dozen of these official single casks, have never had a bad one, and enjoyed all of them on some level, so I've been looking forward these next five reviews! First up, a sherry hoggie that was purchased privately by an American gentleman. Sadly, it wasn't me. 😢

Distillery: Lochranza (the distillery formerly known as Arran)

Ownership: Isle of Arran Distillers

Age: 14 years (7 Aug 2002 - 23 Aug 2016)

Maturation: sherry hogshead

Cask #: 2002/587

Bottle: 149/267

Alcohol by Volume: 54.8%

(Thanks to Secret Agent Man for the sample!)

NEAT

The nose begins with a mysterious musty old dunnage note which gradually wafts away, revealing passionfruit candy, apple peels, and almond extract. Subtler notes of oats, golden raisins, and saline linger in the back. The palate is super toasty, with layers of toasted oak and toasted nut notes. Serrano chiles, fresh ginger, and clementines give it a sweet zing. A quiet earthy note develops with time. It finishes sweeter with pineapple, oranges, and golden raisins, along with a touch of Serrano heat.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or < 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Hmmm, tomato leaf and dried basil appear in the nose now. Golden raisins, dried cherries, and saline fill the background. The palate is much oakier and sweeter, all toasty oak spice and sugary dried berries. It finishes sweet and oaky as well, almost bourbony.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Though I realize it's kinda pointless to publicly review a private cask, one can say the same about most whisky reviews! I LOVE the nose on this whisky, like the palate, and prefer it all when neat. American whiskey fans (including the fellow who owned the cask) may prefer it diluted because, as per my notes, it starts moving into sweet bourbon territory once water is added. The fun sherry hoggie presents anything but generic notes. A good pick!

Availability - Private cask
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86 (neat)

Arran 18 year old (current label)

(Arran mini-cluster homepage)

I tried Arran's original 18 year old when it first arrived on our shores, eight years ago, and it was too tannic for my palate. Not once in the years since did I consider trying the Arran 18 again until the Doctors Springbank gifted me a sample of the current edition in 2022. The whisky is still entirely or mostly assembled from sherry casks, and the color is quite dark. I've matched it up with a younger Arran sparring partner tonight (which I'll get to later in the cluster).

pic from
the official site

Distillery: Lochranza (the distillery formerly known as Arran)

Ownership: Isle of Arran Distillers

Age: at least 18 years

Maturation: sherry casks (per the official site)

Bottled: ca. 2020

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfiltered? No

e150a? No

(thanks to Doctors Springbank for the sample!)

NOTES

Dark chocolate, raw almonds, and raw walnuts form most of the nose, with smaller notes of lime juice, applesauce, and mint candy decorating the background. It gains brighter orange notes after 30+ minutes in the glass. A few drops of water work wonders again, bringing out dates, nectarines, and dried blueberries. The almonds get toastier, and some mustier cask notes appear.

A uniquely bold grape juice note shows up first in the palate, followed by carob, salt, and raw nuts (brazil and almonds). Just a little bit of sweetness floats beneath. That dash of water makes it saltier and more chocolatey while also better integrating all the notes.

The grape juice turns to red zinfandel in the finish, while carob, walnuts, and anise move to the foreground. Adding water brings out dried herbs, dried currants, lemon, and salt.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This is much better than the original 18, if my old notes are reliable. And it's yet another Arran that improves with a tiny bit of dilution. Perhaps Arran's sherry cask management has improved over the years, or this was just a good batch. I hope it's the former! The whisky's prices are considerably different between the US and Europe. I'd consider getting a bottle at the European price, but not at the American rate.

Availability - Europe and USA
Pricing - Europe: $90-$125 (pre-VAT); USA: $160-$240
Rating - 86 (with water)

Arran 10 year old versus Arran 10 year old

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As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it's been a long time since I focused on Arran single malt. But when I did, I found the whisky peaking in its official 10 and 14 year old expressions. The spirit sang clearest in the 10, while the oak merged perfectly at 14. At 16 and 18 years old, the standard releases already started to tilt too oaky. Single casks could shine when older, but that, of course, depended on the cask. Meanwhile, I saved money enjoying the best stuff, the 10 and 14. And then Arran discontinued the 14 year old in 2019.

So, here I am left with the Ten. I have one sample from my own bottle that I reviewed almost eight years ago. Back then it had "the new label". Now I have sample from the new new label bottling that arrived on USA shores in 2020. The two whiskies have the same 46%/NC/NCF presentation, but do they have the same cask make-up? I don't know. The older bottlings were a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, with many refills in the mix. The official website offers not even a smidgen of cask detail. Unofficial listings show both only "Bourbon", while others list "Bourbon casks, and a small amount of refill sherry casks". So I'm not sure how this will play out.

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Arran 10 year old, bottled in 2014, 46%abv
(from my bottle)

pic source

Barley and oats show up first in the nose, followed by grapefruit, citronella candles, and yuzu peels, with moss and fresh rosemary in the background. A few drops of water intensify the fruits and grains, while adding a touch of guava.

Sweet, tart, and bitter citrus all arrive early in the palate, with the sweetness eventually winning out. It's very malty and slightly grassy, with some raw walnuts in the back. A few drops of water bring out the barley, raw nuts, and bitter citrus.

Tangy and bitter citrus mix with the malt in the finish, with a lot of raw barley in the aftertaste. It's all malt and grapefruit after a few drops of water.

This remains a very nice drink, even after exactly eight years in a sample bottle! As per my notes, the barley stays on top throughout, which is good because the spirit is excellent. It might even improve at about 43%abv, but shhhhhhhh. Don't tell Arran.

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Arran 10 year old, bottled in 2020, 46%abv

actual bottle

(thanks to Doctors Springbank for the sample!)

A completely different nose here. It starts with a tangerine, raspberry, and cilantro salad, with roses, grasses, and cherry bubblegum appearing later. It becomes very herbal after a few drops of water, specifically dried savory herbs and paprika. But there's also a hint of nectarine in the midground.

The palate reads more sour than tangy. Wormwood bitterness meets cracked black peppercorns, and a hint of malt. It becomes less of a fight after a few drops of water, but it's still plenty bitter. The barley is rawer and some pencil shavings show up, but there's definitely a peachy note in the back.

It finishes with with grains, iron, and a grassy bitterness. A few drops of water turn it into a pile of bitter citrus peels and peppercorns.

This one is fiercer and sharper, in need of some level of complexity on the palate, though I'm impressed that the distillery went with such a ruffian for its 10 year old. The nose has that complexity and is endlessly sniffable, which brings up the rating.

---

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I'm very surprised by the difference between these two batches. It doesn't seem like the same distillery. The 2020 feels more "Craft Whisky" and younger, but at least it's not full of new oak. Both whiskies open up with slight dilution, and both noses dazzle, but the 2014 bottling reads more honed and complete. I'd buy a bottle of the 2014 batch any day. Though I'd drink the 2020 bottling again, I have no interest in purchasing it.

Arran 10 year old, bottled 2014 - 85 (with water)

Arran 10 year old, bottled 2020 - 81 (with water)

The mini cluster of Arran single malts begins!

I miss Arran's single malts. The distillery's standard offerings used to be part of my whisky cabinet's regular rotation, but then I moved from California (where Arrans were easy to find) to Ohio (where Arrans don't exist). Then Arran's range was rebooted and my favorite bottling was discontinued. Now I'm down to my final two official bottles, and my last eight samples. It's time to open them all up!

In 1994, a group of investors, including Harold Currie (former Chivas Master Distiller), broke ground on the Isle of Arran's first legal distillery in more than 150 years. Standing on the northern edge of the island, in Lochranza, the facility began distilling unpeated malt spirit the following year, with peated variants following several years later.

When I started reviewing Arrans, the distillery's capacity was 750,000 annual liters. They've since expanded to 1,200,000 liters per annum, the vast majority of which ends up in bottles of single malt. Unpeated spirit production goes for 46 weeks per year, with the peated runs saved for the other six weeks. The new make spirit is not diluted from its 68.5%abv strength when casked and hauled out to the warehouses.

Officially, the distillery's name has been changed to Lochranza because the owners have opened another Arran distillery, named Lagg, on the southern coast, but old habits die hard, so I'll continue to call the original distillery by the "Arran" name throughout this cluster.

Tomorrow, a comparison of two batches of the 10 year old......

ARRAN CLUSTER ROLL CALL:

1. Arran 10 year old (bottled 2014) - "...the barley stays on top throughout, which is good because the spirit is excellent."
2. Arran 10 year old (bottled 2020) - "...fiercer and sharper, in need of some level of complexity on the palate..."
3. Arran 18 year old (ca. 2020) - "Perhaps Arran's sherry cask management has improved over the years..."
4. Arran 14 year old 2002, private cask 2002/587 - "...LOVE the nose......like the palate......prefer it neat."
5. Arran 16 year old 1997, cask 217 for the USA - "...works much better at full strength, where it's more complex and delicious."
6. Arran 21 year old 1996, cask 596 for Spec's - "I think the oakiness would appeal to the American palate, or at least the Texan one..."
7. Arran 20 year old 1998, cask 82, 20th Anniversary Trilogy for Japan - "...here it is at 20, feeling older than its age, and not in a glamorous way."
8. Arran 24 year old 1996, cask 1996/904 for Nickolls & Perks - "It's the sort of cask-driven winesky......with which I can get on board."
9. Arran 14 year old (bottled 2010) - "...I was worried that this Arran 14 would never live up to my expectations. Yet it does, and more."
10. Arran 14 year old (bottled 2017) - "...warmer and spicier, but the fruits remain, and the wood never takes over."

Spirit of Freedom 30 year old blended whisky

Commemorating the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn (wherein Robert the Bruce kicked the English directly in the spotted dick), Spirit of Freedom 30 year old was one of Frank McHardy-sensei's final creations for Springbank Distillers. And I, for one, am terribly disappointed that he DIDN'T USE 700 YEAR OLD WHISKY. Whaaaaaaaat a cop out.

Spirit of Freedom arrived at UK retailers at a sensational price in 2014, and was probably the last 30 year old scotch in history to have an SRP of £75. Yes, I should have gotten a bottle while I could have, when seemingly every retailer on the planet shipped to the US, but I did not. And it took almost a decade to source a sample. Let's see how it holds up next to Wednesday's 5 year old.

(pic source)

Brand: Spirit of Freedom
Bottler: Springbank Distillers Ltd.

Type: blended whisky

Age: minimum 30 years

Contents: 75% malt / 25% grain
Maturation: bourbon and sherry casks

Bottled: 2014

Outturn: 2014 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose begins with a note of dough+apple+brine that's a direct line to the 5yo blended malt, then it improves from there. Dunnage, black walnuts, and date rolls. Burlap, oats, and honey.

Ooooooh, passionfruit and white nectarines start the palate, followed by dates, dunnage, and guava. It has a mild sweetness and good bitterness, but a watery mouthfeel.

It finishes with a flawless balance of tart and sweet. Grapefruits and dates. Some nice bitterness as well.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but this is not 30 year old Springbank, instead its malt is from five distilleries "around Scotland". If there was Springbank present, it would have to be at least 35 years old due to the distillery's mothballed status between 1979 and 1987. And if you think there's 35+ year old Springbank in a $100 bottling, then you are PERFECT for the current whisky marketplace.

More to the point, this is delicious whisky. It's too fragile and thinly textured to be A-grade, for which the grain whisky and some underproof malt (35yo Springbank?!?!?) may be to blame. But it's still a casual delight. So fire up that time machine, folks, and pick up some bottles in 2014.

Availability - Secondary market?
Pricing - £75 or €110 upon release
Rating - 88