Review 82 8th November 2020

Arran 10 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, owned by the Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd, we can't tell if this is a subsiduary of another company or a wholely private company, this single malt coming from the Highland Region of Scotland is well presented. Bottled at 46% ABV, natural colour and non chill filtered. It is widely available online, however, generally doesn't appear on supermarket shelfs. With a avarage retail price of £35.40, because of it decent presentation, recieved a value score of 96.38 out of 100.

The Arran Distillers don't state, in an obvious way, what cask type is used for maturation, however, we believe it to be ex-bourbon casks.

On the nose it indicates its alcohol with a little nip, it presents stright away as fruity, fragrant and aromatic, if this were a Diageo release, which it isn't, we could imagine it as a 'Flora and Fauna' bottling. The dominant fruit that we noted was strawberry reminscent of the Yamazaki Distiller Reserve that we reviewed. There is some lemon, bourbon notes of oak, some aniseed and unexpectidly some heather honey.

On the palate, it starts medium sweet, with a lush syrupy texture and some sherbert fizz on the tongue. There is fruit of citrus, apple and pears, similar to a Glenfiddich 12. The spice of Aniseed isn't showing but replaced with cinnamon, giving this an apple strudel quality. Its not too bitter on the finish.

The addition of water more of the bourbon notes present together with some soured milk. On the palate not too much changes but the spice of cinnamon is toned down.

This is a great dram, it is a great introduction to the brand, the price is slightly too high for what it offers, however, give the bottle time to open and im sure the dram will improve, even with time in the glass. We do recommend this whisky and it is one that we would still buy, for an overall score we give it 87 out of 100.