Arran – 1996/2016 – 19yo – 54,7% – Cask 1390 – OB for Whiskysite.nl

Nose : The alcohol doesn’t bare fangs too much and it’s the sherry that runs the show : Strawberries with sugar (that comes right), dried apricots, oranges, pastry caramel… The classical dry fruits are pretty discreet (almond hint) whereas this nose unveils some honey, spices (cinnamon, grey pepper) and a bit of wood. With the opening it diversifies even more with cereal biscuits, milk chocolate and a ginger freshness. The opening calms the purely fruity ardors to express a sweet profile. However we have a bit of pomegranate and some lemony sparkling water that bring a bit of acidness. The sherry is perceptible but the distillate isn’t completely eclipsed. It is well made. Waiting a few dozen minutes, we perceive a mineral hint, almonds and some salt grains. Water only diminishes the sherry domination but, by doing so, the nose becomes a bit flatter.

Mouth : The mouth is very broad with a massive profile. Once again we start on the sherry, but in a less precise way than at nose… This one takes again the sugared strawberries, some caramel and pomegranate while the honey, the grapefruit and spices (black pepper, ginger) arrive in the middle of the mouth. It’s warm and it continues on milk chocolate. We then have some minerals (cold stone), a few salt grains and lemony sparling water. The passing from sherry notes to the sharper profile is amusing. Water reinforces this schism by giving energy to the mouth second part and by making last way longer the warm spicy notes. It then becomes very good. We surely have a good dosage but, behind the complexity, we see a kind of block formation that indicates a light lack of subtlety.

Finish : It is long and comes with a long persistence but with more wood. We have orange and grapefruit then, on the aftertaste, we find something more uncluttered with lemony lemonade and a mineral side (chalk) that gives it a really interesting twist.