THE WHISKY CONNOISSEUR
BY DAVID GREEN, THE RED FOX
Arran Distillery is a relative newcomer to the hallowed
halls of single-malt scotch but has fast become a dynamic
new force in the industry and is one of the few remaining
independent distilleries in Scotland.
Perhaps not as well known as some of the other islands of
Scotland, the Isle of Arran is located east of the Kintyre
peninsula where Campbeltown (and Springbank distillery) is
located and west of mainland Scotland. The island has always
been a fine place to make good whisky, with many agreeing
it has some of the purest water in all of Scotland; water that
has been cleansed by granite and softened by peat as it slowly
meanders from the mountaintops.
Early in the 19th century, there were more than 50 whisky
distilleries on Arran, most of them illegal and carefully hidden
from the eyes of the taxmen. The malt was acclaimed at the
time as the best in Scotland but when quantity was prized over
quality, the small island couldn’t compete economically, and
one by one the distilleries fell into disuse.
In 1991, about 160 years after the last distillery on Arran
gave up the production of whisky, the construction of a new
distillery was started and in 1995, Isle of Arran Distillers
finally opened their doors. Today they offer several bottling’s
and are the only distillery on the Isle of Arran. In 2014, The
Visitor Centre was awarded ‘Distillery Visitor Experience of
the Year’ and went on to win again in 2015.
The whisky matures in carefully-chosen oak casks that have
previously held Sherry, Bourbon and other noble liquors. The
wood gives colour and character, and the choice of cask is
probably the most important influence on the character of the
end whisky.
Once it reaches the desired age, they bottle most of their
single malts at 46% ABV or at cask-strength. They never add
anything artificial and its all non chill filtered so all the colour
in their whisky comes from the wood of the cask.
They produce a range of different styles and finishes, including
a series named ‘Cask Finishes’ which contain whisky matured
in different casks including Amerone & Port, but the one that
stood out for me was the Sauternes cask finish, but I might
be slightly biased as these casks have come from my favourite
wine region ‘Bordeaux’.
After initially maturing in traditional oak casks for
approximately 8 years, the Malt was finished in a selection of
Sauternes wine casks sourced from an artisan producer of this
iconic Bordeaux sweet white wine.
Sauternes is where arguably the world’s finest sweet white
wines are produced using Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, and
Muscadelle grapes. I was really interested to try this and I was
not disappointed, the end result is a Single Malt full of charm,
complexity and quality.
With plans in place to begin building a second distillery in the
south of the island, times have never been more exciting for
Arran distillery. Bottled at powerful 50% yet this is a fresh, sweet, fruity and
seductive whisky with a long, rich and slightly drying finish
with aroma’s of fresh fruit.
They have a simple philosophy that is to produce a range of
whiskies of the very finest quality and produce a range of ages
and expressions, but all are made using the same traditional
methods and materials. A delightfully light but interesting dram, with a peppery, spicy
kick, this Arran Sauternes cask finish is a great addition to any
cabinet, delicious and definitely a dessert dram.
They always use all-Scottish barley and the washbacks - large
wooden vessels used for fermentation - are crafted from
Oregon pine.
Available at The Red Fox for £4.50 a dram or from
www.thewhiskyexchange.com for £43.55
wirrallife.com 35