For almost a decade, Arran kept releasing fresh batches of this
bottling, and because it doesn't have an age statement you could
never know for certain if a bottle you bought in 2002 contained
malt whisky that was three or seven years old. When I tried my
first one in 1998 I was pleasantly surprised. My score of 61 points
was actually pretty good for a 3yo whisky. I'm happy to report that
the malt whisky from Arran has improved considerably since then.

Along the way Arran released some 'special' bottlings like the 'Painters' series and the
'Robert Burns' shown below, but the lack of any further information on the actual age
of these bottles kept me from investing much money in them. The fact that they
demanded handsome ransoms for these 'special' bottlings that couldn't have been
that old (or good) has tempered my enthusiasm for this distillery for a while, but by
2003 the 'Non-Chillfiltered ' bottling appeared.

A decade after being opened in 1995, a few different expressions
of Arran became available to the public around 2005. For many
years the only widely available expression has been the standard
NAS version (no age statement), released for the first time in 1998.

And this time I could actually notice notable improvement.
A score of 67 points still isn't an astronomical score by any
stretch of the imagination, but it's the section of my Hit List
where I'm starting to have some genuine fun. I won't be
running to the liquor store the next time Arran releases
another new bottling, but if they were smart enough to
save up enough of the first casks (and I suspect they
were) the future looks quite bright indeed for Arran.
Their regular offerings at circa 10 years old can
already compete with established brands.

Things started to look really sunny when Arran entered the Awards in 2004.
They submitted two 'single cask' bottlings that both earned a bronze medal.
I wouldn't be surprised if Arran came up with a really interesting whisky in just
three or four years time. By the way, their Lochranza blend isn't half bad either;
I can't say I really 'love' it (50 points), but I like it better than many mainstream blends
like J&B and William Lawson, that much is certain. And pretty good value too here in Holland.
The only potentially disturbing element in Arran's success story is the relatively large quantity of single malt and blended whisky that has already been bottled and sold at a young age. Arran has a substantial production capacity of 750,000 litres per year, but they presently only produce a fraction of that; 125,000 litres. Will there be enough casks left by the time the spirit reaches its prime in a few years time - and did they use decent casks?

1) During the construction of the distillery, a pair of Golden Eagles built their nest on a nearby cliff.
Since Golden Eagles are a protected species construction of the distillery was temporarily halted.

2) Arran doesn't have its own malt mill; ready made grist is purchased from the mainland.

3) Until the 1830's there were three distilleries on the Isle of Arran, all on the southern part of the island.

Below you can find the tasting notes on some of the Arran malt whiskies I tried.
However, I'll start with my notes for a 'spirit' that technically isn't whisky.
It wasn't matured for the legally required minimum of three years...

Arran 1yo 1996 Spirit (61.5%, OB, 5cl) - sample from Andries Visser, January 2005
Nose: Sweet & grainy. Quite pleasant in the front of the nose, but not really in the back.
I was almost enjoying myself for a few seconds, but then it quickly grows dull and fairly harsh.
Taste: Hmmm.... Not too bad at all in the start. Bug, sweet and fruity. Quite harsh in the centre.
This doesn't feel very refined, but for a 1yo spirit it's quite impressive. Reminds me of the Lot 40.
I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the start; unfortunately, it falls apart quite quickly.
Score: 45 points - although I actually contemplated a score above 50 points for a few seconds.

Arran NAS (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 1998, Sherry Casks, L9:243:S10 99:13185 11:00, 70cl)
Nose: Oily and creamy - like Isle of Jura. Grain? Banana's and some peppery elements as well.
A little sweet. A pinch of salt. A little smoke and some nuttyness later on. Quite interesting.
Not bad at +/- 3 yo. It picks up slightly after a while, but never reaches recommendable levels.
Taste: Watery. Smooth with a malty burn, then a toffee sweetness. Dry and bitter finish. Tea?
Score: 61 points - it seems we'll have to wait a few more years...

Arran NAS (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2001, Sherry casks, Code L9:298:S10 99/15031 14:08, 70cl)
Nose: Oily & spirity. Sweeter & maltier over time.Very (and I mean very) faint hints of peat & smoke.
Taste: Malty and a little bitter. Short finish. Should do better in the summer.
Score: 63 points - not a lot of character, but easily drinkable compared to a blend.

Arran NAS 'Non-chillfiltered' (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2003)
Nose: Nutty. Sweet and malty at first - light and very pleasant. Oatmeal? Quite accessible.
Wait a minute - now it's growing oilier and grainier. The complexity vanishes after a while.
I like it better than the normal NAS version but after a few minutes I still found it a tad boring.
Taste: Starts off rather weak, uneven and bitter. Sweeter centre - not altogether unpleasant.
Unfortunately, the finish is dry and very bitter. Bad wood? It loses quite a few points there.
Score: 67 points - I had my first dram at 71 points but my second opinion was less positive.
The whisky shows potential (more than I thought) but in the end it's just too neutral for me.
But the slightly higher proof works, I imagine this could work even better at 50% or even C/S.
Or how about increasing the PPM - that seems to work for the Ledaigs distilled at Tobermory.

Arran NAS Marsala Finish (56.9%, OB, Bottled 22/10/2004).
Nose: Quite gentle, but spicy too. This shows something clearly 'winey'.
Faint dried apples. It opens up a bit with time. Probably the 'richest' Arran.
Taste: Sweet, spicy and a little winey. It really fits the nose like a glove.
A little sweeter with water. This really does quite well on the palate.
Score: 81 points - yes, it definitely seems Arran is reaching maturity.
Much more interesting than any 'deluxe' Robert Burns edition...

Arran 1996/2004 Single Cask (58.7%, OB, 311 bottles)
Blasted! I accidentilly poured it into a glass filled with quite a lot of water!
Nose: Oily, more organics after a few seconds. Then spices, becoming more 'oriental'.
Not a lot of excitement at first, although it seems to open up slowly. Wet clay?
Taste: Flat and weak. Light and fruity. But is that the water or the malt?
Preliminary impression: Lower 70's. Could it be I added too much water?
Second sampling: Hey, is that a hint of peat in the nose? Hmmm, now it's gone.
But now it shows lots of organics, that's for sure. Spicy and very fruity on the tongue.
Score: 78 points - it has plenty of flaws, but I liked it much better during my 2nd try.
Hey, hey - this is one of the very best Arrans I've tried so far!

Arran NAS 'Grand Cru Champagne Cask Finish' (58.8%, OB, 308 bottles, Bottled 2005)
Nose: Sweet and grainy, quickly growing fruitier. Faint hint of smoke? Developing organics. Sake?
Ah, this definitely opens up with time. Well, not for long. It drifts in and out of focus. Camphor?
More spices and organics in the nose during round 2. Stock cubes. Quite unique. Smells 'foody'.
Taste: Oy, a hint of pine in the start. Sweet and herbal. Dry and quite harsh towards the finish.
Feels a bit winey at the end with tannins pulling my gums in. Yeah, in the end this is utterly drinkable.
Score: 83 points - not really my 'type', but expressive and a solid overproof whisky (especially on the palate).

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Arran I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most malts I've sampled and scored - but finding notes on a specific expression could be tricky. You might want to use the search box at the top of this page for that. The mAlmanac now contains personal selections of the best and the worst single malts I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value.

But those are all just my own, purely personal opinions. On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the distillery. Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.