Scotch Whisky Review #295: Single Cask Nation Arran 9 Year First Fill Bourbon (2010)

Distillery: Arran

Bottler: Jewish Whisky Company

Region: Island

Age: 9 Year. Distilled in January of 2010 and bottled in August of 2019.

ABV: 56.3% Cask Strength

Cask Type: First Fill Bourbon

Cask Number: 88

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/DangerousDoorknob

Color: 0.9, Amontillado Sherry.

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Nose: (according to the wife) Pears, lots and lots and lots of pears. It’s quite fresh and bright with a singular note of crisp pears coming through.

Palate: Fresh and fruity. There is a lot of Korean pear along with a note of cantaloupe infused water and grapefruit flavored sparkling water. With a few drops of water, the cantaloupe note becomes much stronger and takes the wheel.

Finish: Medium in length. Sugary cantaloupe and a bit of watermelon rind.

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Conclusion: Arran seems to shine in every cask possible and naturally, first fill bourbon has treated it quite nicely. It’s packed full of fruit from start to finish. The pears in the nose and undiluted palate are deliciously crisp and fresh. The cantaloupe and grapefruit adds a bit of extra depth to this before a bit of watermelon rind ends things off with a nice refreshing snap. It does turn into a little bit of a one note wonder with water, the cantaloupe really dominates everything in all of it’s sugary and delicious goodness. A bit simplistic at times, but a really tasty Arran nonetheless. I’d hazard to guess that one of these wouldn’t last very long on my shelf.

Final Score: 81.

Scotch Whisky Review #295, Island Review #45, Whisky Network Review #438

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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.

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