Whisky : Arran Amarone Cask Finish

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 50% abv.

Cask : ~8 years Ex-Bourbon, Amarone Wine Cask Finish

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home.

Nose : The aroma of tropical flowers rises up first followed by more intense dried rose petals. The nose is fairly gentle and restrained with some sweet red currant jam hiding in the background. If I did not know this was scotch I might think it was some kind of fancy hotel soap.

Palate : Lots of big bold spice and none of the floral notes of the nose. White pepper as well as black and pink peppercorn give this a cracking opening. There is a definite dry astringent red wine quality along with a bit of tree nut. The wife found the astringency to be similar to raw almonds. After opening up a bit more, the big vanilla that I typically associate with Arran’s Bothy Quarter Cask came through.

Finish : Long and lingering rich vanilla bean cream.

Score : 6

Mental Image : A ridiculously oversized glass of house red wine and an intensely pepper crusted fillet of salmon with a slab of honeyed butter melting on top.

Notes : This was unusual and I think I liked it. It was interesting enough that I am ready to give the other wine finishes a go if I see them. The dry red wine does compliment the juicy Arran malt, drawing out a lot of the spice that otherwise sits distantly in the background. My excitement is a bit muted on this Arran though. I have not rushed out to go buy a bottle, which was exactly what I did the day after I tried the Arran 14 year for the first time.

Arran continues to consistently be my favorite Scottish distillery not located on Islay. I am not sure if my fondness is driven by the fact that Arran is not readily available around me, so I want what I cannot have. Or, if it is the subtle tropical fruit which trumps over the red/green apple that dominates so many other sweeter drams. I wondered if the cask finish series that they put out was just a gimmicky way to sell some young juice. I have enjoyed the ones I have tried, so I reckon I can say its not just a gimmick, but I do wonder how this finish would have worked on a more mature barrel. It still has some of the roughness of the 10 year, but seems to have gotten a lot more wood spice like the Quarter Cask— though its possible that is just the wine finish which really highlights those elements.