Whisky : Arran Bothy Quarter Cask (Batch 2)

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 55.2%

Cask : Ex-bourbon, 18 mo. finish in Quarter Casks

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Sweet vanilla bean ice cream, short bread cookies, creamy butter. Overtime some of the fruit that I usually associate with Arran comes forward, ripe red berries complimented by some oaky spice from the Quarter Casks.

Palate : The dram opens to big oaky vanilla complimented by a great creaminess considering the high alcohol content. There are licorice notes of aniseed as well as some lemon citrus hanging out in the background. As the dram rests longer more tropical fruit flavors come forward; dragon fruit, soursop, and crushed sugar cane. 

Finish : More heat than sweet, though there is a lingering creaminess. The finish reminds me quite a bit of aerosol sunscreen.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Eating pancakes covered in blueberries and thick guava syrup in the midst of a bustling tropical fruit market.

Something Better : Laphroaig Quarter Cask (more smoke and savory than sweet, richer vanilla)

Something Similar : Arran Amarrone Finish (more astringent, more fruit forward, less wood spice)

Something Worse : Arran 10 (lighter more delicate, weaker body and finish)

The Quarter Cask and the Arran malt are not a perfect match— but they are not imperfect either. I love the tropical fruit notes of Arran, yet the time in the Quarter Cask imparted a woody vanilla and spice. I think these oaky notes overpower the more subtle tropical fruit notes without necessarily complementing them. I tend to think the oaky notes that a Quarter Cask provides works better with hearty smokey drams, so I would be curious to see how the the combination of a peated Arran malt finished in quarter casks works. I am sure they will— if they have not already— tried this out, especially when the Lagg distillery opens up.

I would buy this again— probably not Batch 2, but I would love to try some of the other batches and see how they compare to one another. Unfortunately, like most Arrans, this is not available locally, so getting one is always more or a hassle and a gamble. Even more unfortunate, I did try ordering a bottle of Batch 3, but the package fell into a black hole en route to me, so it may be a while before I try again.