Whisky : Arran 16 Year 1998; Fox Fitzgerald “Rest & Be Thankful”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 56.8%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon

Age : 16 Years (Distilled 29 June 1998, Bottled 23 Feb. 2015)

Nose : Absolutely bursting with creamy tropical fruits: coconuts, plantains, pomelo, and mango cream sorbet.  Citrus fruits slide in with grapefruit, calamansi, lime, and orange blossom.  Hints of maltiness come through with vanilla cream, shortbread, and just a kiss of salty beachside air.

Palate : Medium bodied with bold juicy flavors.  Loads of sweet fleshy tropical fruits— dried mango, coconut, dragonfruit, guava, and candied strawberry.  Sweet and sugary like coconut pancake syrup, honey, or hard guava candies.  Hints of beach sand minerality with and malty vanilla granola.  Guava and rambutan linger on the end.

Finish : Long and lingering with dried tropical fruits, citrus pith, and a kiss of salt

Score : 8

Mental Image : Sunrise on the Beach

Something Similar : Arran 22 Year; Cadenhead (similar guava candy/tropical fruit, more coconut)

Something Worse : Ardbeg Drum Limited Release (similar tropical fruit, more char, less body)

Notes :  This might have been my ideal Arran.  Absolutely gorgeous notes of tropical fruit dominate a bold flavor profile.  The kiss of salt that comes through on the nose and palate only serves to emphasize the fruitiness of this Arran.  The shortbread-like maltiness of Arran sat shyly in the background but added complexity and with so much fruit coming forward I did not even miss it.  This had excellent structure and mouthfeel and really leaned into a nice long, slightly dry, finish.  This was excellent and reminded me of the very first time I tried Arran at a friend’s birthday.  That 17 Year Special Edition blew me away and immediately went out to hunt down more Arran to try.  I have been a bit hit of miss with the distillery ever since— more hits than misses, but enough misses that I am not quite the Arran-stan I once was.  This was everything I want from an Arran.  Rest & Be Thankful continues to be one of my favorite independent bottler labels.