Arran 24 Year (1996) Cask 1996/904 for Nickolls & Perks
Whisky: Arran 24 Year (1996) Cask 1996/904 for Nickolls & Perks
Country/Region: Scotland/Islands
ABV: 49.3%
Cask: First Fill Oloroso Sherry Hogshead
Age: 24 Years (Distilled 5 Aug. 1995, Bottled 10 June 2021)
Nose: Big cask-driven aroma, sherry fruits, licorice, baking spices, leather, oak moss, dark chocolate.
Palate: Medium-bodied, tannic and cask-heavy, jammy fruits, baking spices, more subtle incense and leather, dark chocolate, pastries and jam later on, pepper toward the end.
Finish: Long and drying with dark honey and chocolate.
Score: 6 (78)
Mental Image: The Ruins of Arran in the Sherry Apocalypse
Narrative & Notes: Intensely cask-dominant with loads of jammy fruits, strawberry licorice ropes, and baking spices filtering toward well-appointed oak moss, incense, and leather. Mellower notions of burnt toast and dark chocolate added to the impression of a foreboding sherry storm in the glass. Medium-bodied and a touch tannic, with plenty of cask-influence riding to the fore. Jammy red fruits and berries arrived with pepper, cinnamon, ginger, mace, and cloves as more subtle notions of incense and leather lingered in the background. Dark chocolate and hints of malty pastries— chocolate buns filled with jam maybe— arrived late on with pepper, lacquered wood, and herbal spice, like preparing a roast for the oven. The finish was long and drying with dark honey and chocolate.
This was just about all cask, and had I tasted it blind, I could have been convinced it was any number of Speyside distilleries. It lacked any defining characteristic beyond the cask. There were few of the pastry, earthy, fruity, or floral notes I associate with Arran as the cask overrode everything with its big fruits and baking spices.
Overall, I imagine fans of opaque or cola-colored malts and big sherry bombs will find a lot to love, but I thought it was overdone and a touch too tannic as the drying quality really took hold partway through a pour. In terms of a big, dumb sherry bomb, it was alright, though on the sweeter side despite the dark chocolate notes.
Image Credit: Whisky Auctioneer
