Christmas Countdown 2020 #12: Arran 18 Year

Distillery: Arran

Region: Island

Age: 18 Year.

ABV: 46.0%

Cask Type: “A mix of [Arran’s] most luxurious sherry casks”

Color: 1.8, Old Oak. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

This is the 12th installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can see the entire 2020 series here or the 2019 edition here.

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Nose: (according to the wife) Caramel and maple trees are the main notes here. There’s a little bit of raisin and bits of red pepper as well.

Palate: It’s a sherry bomb alright. The sherry comes out strong in all of it’s beautiful sweet and fruity glory. It does need a drop of water or two to open up a bit but once it does, it’s a flood of layers of fruit. White grapes, figs, plums, maesil, and little bits of nectarine are all present.

Finish: Medium in length. There’s a tad of bit of cream, more of those white grapes, and a little bit of oak spice.

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Conclusion: Another day, another great whisky by Arran. I’ve been wanting to try their 18 year old release for a while now and I’m glad I’ve had the chance to. It is a sherry bomb, though on the lighter side than some sherry bombs. It’s the first thing you taste when you take a sip and it leaves a lasting impact. The different orchard fruits in here make for a lot of fun to pick them out as you go. I wish there was some other kind of element in here, a few tasting notes mention chocolate but I couldn’t seem to find it, but it’s still fantastic as it is. Would I buy a bottle? Yes.

Final Score: 87.

Scotch Whisky Review #234, Island Review #35, Whisky Network Review #354

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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.