Scotch Whisky Review #306: The Arran Malt 11 Year Pineau des Charentes (2008)

Distillery: Arran

Region: Island

Age: 11 year. Distilled in 2008.

Cask Type: Pineau des Charentes casks

ABV: 53.7% Cask Strength

Price: Many thanks to /u/tombourbonbadil for sharing this one!

Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

This particular review was done blind.

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Nose: (according to the wife) There is a ton of pears here. Truckloads of the stuff in all of its sugary, sweet goodness. A bit of lemon breaks up the pear party along with a touch of mint and green apple.

Palate: It’s quite sugary, almost sugar water levels of sugary. It is a touch hot and needs some cooling. It does cool down nicely revealing a bunch of pears and green apple notes. The sugar sticks around, but is not nearly as dominating.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Sugary fruit notes linger for a long time. They’re more of an artificial fruit flavor, like fruity popping jelly, than straight raw fruit. It’s a mix of different fruits with orchard fruits standing out the most. It’s quite refreshing, a much needed respite from the summer heat.

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Guess: It seems really familiar, but it’s not one I can put my finger on. Mid-teens for age. Speyside for region. First fill bourbon maybe? 55%+ ABV. Linkwood would be my guess for distillery.

Reveal: The Arran Malt 11 Year Pineau des Charentes (2008)

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Conclusion: It’s not often that I go back and re-review a whisky. Even if I have a bottle, I generally only re-review if I feel like I’ve somehow missed something the first go around. Being able to revisit this wine cask Arran blinded was a really fun experience. It seemed familiar but yet not at the same time. Comparing it to my previous notes, it makes a bit of sense. This time around it was more sugary with pears dominating rather than the more berries and lemonade notes from before. The herbal notes appeared more in the nose this time than in the finish like last time. Funnily enough, my scores were virtually identical (82 this time to 83 last). I guess I just like Arran, who could have predicted that?

Final Score: 82

Scotch Whisky Review #306, Island Review #48, Whisky Network Review #448

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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.