Scotch Whisky Review #192: The Arran Malt 10 Year

Distillery: Arran

Region: Isle of Arran

Price: $50

ABV: 43%

Age: 10 Year

Color: 0.6, Old Gold. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered

Nose: (according to the wife) It smells of cough syrup and alcohol. Not particularly pleasant.

Palate: Starts off with a healthy dose of malt doused in caramel. Sweet with the slightly earthy notes that come along with malt. It gives way to a lemon candy note, I was thinking something along the lines of lemon taffy or a lemon flavored Starburst. More than just the flavor being like a taffy, it even has a little bit of the waxiness as well.

Finish: On the shorter side of things. The notes that pop up seemed to alternate between sips. Some of sip would leave behind a nice malty note, some would leave behind a sour green apple note.

Conclusion: I’m a massive fan of Arran but I had been actively avoiding this given the mixed reviews it receives. Several reviewers have noted that it’s a major step down from the 14 year edition. With the 14 year all but having disappeared from shelves near me and my stockpile ever dwindling, I figured I’d give this a spin. The nose was not promising at all, it’s not particularly pleasant. The rest of it, however, was fairly good. It’s got a bit of earthiness mixed in with some sweetness. The waxiness surprised me, I’ve only ever experienced waxiness in Clynelish. The finish, while short, is pleasant. On the whole, while this is a step down from the 14 year edition, it’s still quite tasty. I think I’ll keep a bottle around.

Final Score: 78.

Scotch Whisky Review #192, Island Review #28, Whisky Network Review #266

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.