I just bought a 13 year old distillery special which I think was described as just about as good as the 18. 🤞 Enjoyed the review and the Lagg review. I’m on Arran and if I visit Lagg I think it’s the Kilmory (if I buy). Mind you I usually do 😂
I wasn’t a big fan of this at first either. But I grew to love it once I figured out exactly how much water to add-that’s when it became that great mix of lovely Sherry plus heft. Will likely buy another one at some point.
I bought the 10 and I have to say its one off the best 10y old scotches there is. Next time I buy the 21 year old. It's not that expensive. 136eu for a 21 year old so I really hope it will be a very good scotch. Tomorrow I first will buy the bothy that's very cheap for a CS whisky. Arran is the scotch that everyone can buy it seems like. And the quality is 👍. I wish every distillery was like this. Also here this bottle.off your review is like 50 euro. Aberlour a bunadh is like 79. And the Aberlour 12year old is only 48eu. I never tried aberlour. Next month purchases are highland park Cass strength, Clynelish 14y, Kilchoman loch gorm, bruichladdich organic (2009) and another 4-5 that I don't know yet.
Sounds like you're going to have a good month next month. Agree about Arran. Excellent quality and great value throughout most of their range. Aberlour isn't my favourite distillery. They have some good stuff, but a lot of it is batch releases. Cheers.
I was like you with this whisky. Wasnt too impressed at first. But as its been open and i keep visiting it further down the line, its getting better and better. Though i do agree totally with the age statement thing.
Enjoying your concise reviews bud. Just ordered a bottle of this for $70 CAD (for about the same price as 'Farclas 105), arrives today. Aberlour A'Bundah is way overpriced at $130 here. Not usually interested in NAS bottlings but Arran 10, 18, 21 sold out online in Alberta thanks to whisky vloggers so I thought I'd give it a shot ;) Arran 18 is a steal at $125 CAD and the sweet spot in the lineup I concur. Wishing I stocked up. Cheers!
Thanks for the kind words. Actually $70 CAD is ok for this, that's less than I paid. But man, Canadian prices blow my mind. Arran 18 costs less than A'bunadh? What a steal!
@@Gwhisky Will pour a dram or two tonight and see how it compares to your notes. Alberta prices keep in mind, not indicative of Canada as a whole as I'm sure you're aware. As for the 18, Arran flying under the radar here for a while but all the AS expressions pretty much sold out now and who knows what the price will be when it's back. Peace brother.
Great review! Agreed. If I am looking for non-Islay or non-campbeltown whiskies, Arran is probably my favorite distillery. I love all their bottlings. The Arran 18 and 14 are simply outstanding bottlings. I think you are absolutely spot on in this review. I agree that this version suffers from an identity crisis. It is in limbo between the clean Arran grain rich flavor and the sherry bomb signature profiles. The 18 is outstanding and perhaps this would have benefited from a few more years of maturation. On an unrelated but "Arran" specific question. How do you like their port finish and Sauterne cask bottlings?
The 18 is a favourite of mine. Delicious stuff, and a good price tag. I've had their old releases of the wine finishes. The port was my favourite of the three, but still not outstanding. The sauternes was kinda “meh.” But tbh I'd try the new releases before I rush to judge, because the new bothy (quarter cask) isn't what it used to be. I much preferred their older version of it. So I'm not sure if the wine finishes have changed as well.
Agree with your assessment of this whisky. Many better options for a sherried malt in this price range. My favourite from the current Arran range is the Quarter Cask. Good that you are prepared to be a bit critical in your reviews. Subscribed.
Excellent description - It occured to me is that Ralfy does not really review NAS bottles like these - it would be good to sse more reviews of NAS here. Not enough review of those. Although typically on the inexpensive side, they usually deliver very vibrant notes, and can give excellent bang for the buck. You are perfectly right about the need for an age statement in this day and age - it is much better just to cite the age to end the guesswork. However, as we know, some NAS bottles can contain some older whiskies, so it would be silly to brand it with the youngest whisky therein e.g. some Ardbeg editions as NAS.
There are plenty of NAS whiskies that I don't mind. Most of what I drink has an age statement, but if I come across a NAS that sounds interesting I'll grab it and review it. While I don't know that I'll be doing MORE or really focusing on them, I'll definitely review whatever I happen to have, NAS or not. Cheers Declan!
That's an interesting review. When the Aberlour A'bunadh went up in price I was very disgruntled. The truth be told, though, it is a very fine whisky with a very clean sherry profile far from the sherry bomb. Even though it is a NAS, I have it on good authority that there is some aged stuff in it. I've always preferred it to any other sherry NAS and many aged sherry statements too. It needs water so I console myself that I get a third of an extra bottle. However, this review is about the Arran, a distillery I like too, but I've never thought that Arran was a sherry distillery in the way that Aberlour so obviously is. In the old days Arran was best with a little bit of sherry to keep things interesting rather than a full on sherry bomb. I think the Quarter cask really highlights that ex-bourbon is always friendly with Arran.
Well said. I'm a much bigger fan of the quarter cask myself. I think sherry does suit the Arran profile, but it isn't needed. Some of the best Arrans are very distillate-driven with minimal cask influence. Cheers!
I love sherry and other fancy cask finishes, smoke flavor (Lagavulin 16), sweetness, anything that has strong flavors. Like a bottle of Finnish whiskey Teerenpeli Kaski that I'm drinking now :D Definitely have all Arran bottles available in my are on my list, including sherry and 18 :)
Agree, I am fan of Arran distillery but this expression is not my thing either. There is a lot in it but sipping it is a bumpy ride. Perhaps better to use a quieter (refill) sherry cask and let it mature longer? Curious..
Yeah it did have a bit of a youthful prickle. I've come back to it since this review and it's still not doing it for me. It seems we're in the minority, though. Oh, well. Plenty of other top-notch Arrans out there for us to enjoy.
Drinking it now while watching your review. You simply need to add water, in 10 drop increments until it softens. Then leave it in the glass for a few minutes and enjoy it to the fullest. Kind regards, SF
Really liked this one, it smells and tastes more mature than the usual sherry bombs. It's got this well balanced nutty/chocolate biterness both in the nose and taste which is generally a sign of older whiskies?
Honestly, I'm not sure about sherry. I'm not even a big fan of "finished" whisky. I like a complex malty note with a chocolatey finish. I found that with Arran 10. So they hooked me, but the 14 was a bit of a disappointment and the Bothy is just "rock and roll"! I think young cask strength bottles that are well priced is a strange trend. How many times can I get punched in the face with that much flavor? That being said, I would pick this up in a second at the right price. And I thought $89.US was to much for the James Mactaggart 10 year
Tastes vary, etc. I don't mind finishes, but a lot of my favourite sherried whiskies have seen a full sherry maturation. That being said, I'm not opposed to finishes at all, I enjoy many of them. Cask strength whiskies also have their place, and hopefully if they're well done, they don't feel like "getting punched." But yeah they can be pretty rough sometimes. I thoroughly enjoyed Arran's Bothy tbh, however I should say that the older batches before the label change were better than the Bothy we have now. I'll be reviewing that one very shortly. Never tried the Mactaggart bottling, so can't really speak to its value. Thanks for commenting!
G..The thing that sets your reviews aside from most others is you do find it difficult to complement whiskies that genuinely don’t float your boat which is what it’s about , numerous other sites let’s just say a Luning Father&Son team 🙈do a lot of umming and arring and scratching of their chins but never actually come and say ..It’s not much good , I don’t like it , your no further forward on an opinion when you’ve watched the vid ..pointless 🤣🤣 Keep telling us how it is mate please
Again, very flattered. I think the advantage of watching Horst & Ben is that they're much more informed about the distillery, its history, and the technical side of the production process. I'm more focused on just blurting out my opinions 😂.
I just bought a 13 year old distillery special which I think was described as just about as good as the 18. 🤞 Enjoyed the review and the Lagg review. I’m on Arran and if I visit Lagg I think it’s the Kilmory (if I buy). Mind you I usually do 😂
I wasn’t a big fan of this at first either. But I grew to love it once I figured out exactly how much water to add-that’s when it became that great mix of lovely Sherry plus heft. Will likely buy another one at some point.
I bought the 10 and I have to say its one off the best 10y old scotches there is. Next time I buy the 21 year old. It's not that expensive. 136eu for a 21 year old so I really hope it will be a very good scotch. Tomorrow I first will buy the bothy that's very cheap for a CS whisky. Arran is the scotch that everyone can buy it seems like. And the quality is 👍. I wish every distillery was like this.
Also here this bottle.off your review is like 50 euro. Aberlour a bunadh is like 79. And the Aberlour 12year old is only 48eu. I never tried aberlour.
Next month purchases are highland park Cass strength, Clynelish 14y, Kilchoman loch gorm, bruichladdich organic (2009) and another 4-5 that I don't know yet.
Sounds like you're going to have a good month next month. Agree about Arran. Excellent quality and great value throughout most of their range.
Aberlour isn't my favourite distillery. They have some good stuff, but a lot of it is batch releases. Cheers.
Good review Jeff,just received mine today,you got an easy accent for non native english speakers,cheers from Spain,worth the sub!
Glad they're accessible. I try to make my vids as clear and concise as possible. Thanks for subbing!
I was like you with this whisky. Wasnt too impressed at first. But as its been open and i keep visiting it further down the line, its getting better and better. Though i do agree totally with the age statement thing.
Enjoying your concise reviews bud. Just ordered a bottle of this for $70 CAD (for about the same price as 'Farclas 105), arrives today. Aberlour A'Bundah is way overpriced at $130 here. Not usually interested in NAS bottlings but Arran 10, 18, 21 sold out online in Alberta thanks to whisky vloggers so I thought I'd give it a shot ;) Arran 18 is a steal at $125 CAD and the sweet spot in the lineup I concur. Wishing I stocked up. Cheers!
Thanks for the kind words. Actually $70 CAD is ok for this, that's less than I paid. But man, Canadian prices blow my mind. Arran 18 costs less than A'bunadh? What a steal!
@@Gwhisky Will pour a dram or two tonight and see how it compares to your notes. Alberta prices keep in mind, not indicative of Canada as a whole as I'm sure you're aware. As for the 18, Arran flying under the radar here for a while but all the AS expressions pretty much sold out now and who knows what the price will be when it's back. Peace brother.
Enjoy man!
Great review! Agreed. If I am looking for non-Islay or non-campbeltown whiskies, Arran is probably my favorite distillery. I love all their bottlings. The Arran 18 and 14 are simply outstanding bottlings.
I think you are absolutely spot on in this review. I agree that this version suffers from an identity crisis. It is in limbo between the clean Arran grain rich flavor and the sherry bomb signature profiles. The 18 is outstanding and perhaps this would have benefited from a few more years of maturation.
On an unrelated but "Arran" specific question. How do you like their port finish and Sauterne cask bottlings?
The 18 is a favourite of mine. Delicious stuff, and a good price tag. I've had their old releases of the wine finishes. The port was my favourite of the three, but still not outstanding. The sauternes was kinda “meh.” But tbh I'd try the new releases before I rush to judge, because the new bothy (quarter cask) isn't what it used to be. I much preferred their older version of it. So I'm not sure if the wine finishes have changed as well.
Agree with your assessment of this whisky. Many better options for a sherried malt in this price range. My favourite from the current Arran range is the Quarter Cask. Good that you are prepared to be a bit critical in your reviews. Subscribed.
Thanks deluxe! I agree, the Bothy is much better! 🥃
Excellent description - It occured to me is that Ralfy does not really review NAS bottles like these - it would be good to sse more reviews of NAS here. Not enough review of those. Although typically on the inexpensive side, they usually deliver very vibrant notes, and can give excellent bang for the buck. You are perfectly right about the need for an age statement in this day and age - it is much better just to cite the age to end the guesswork. However, as we know, some NAS bottles can contain some older whiskies, so it would be silly to brand it with the youngest whisky therein e.g. some Ardbeg editions as NAS.
There are plenty of NAS whiskies that I don't mind. Most of what I drink has an age statement, but if I come across a NAS that sounds interesting I'll grab it and review it. While I don't know that I'll be doing MORE or really focusing on them, I'll definitely review whatever I happen to have, NAS or not. Cheers Declan!
That's an interesting review. When the Aberlour A'bunadh went up in price I was very disgruntled. The truth be told, though, it is a very fine whisky with a very clean sherry profile far from the sherry bomb. Even though it is a NAS, I have it on good authority that there is some aged stuff in it. I've always preferred it to any other sherry NAS and many aged sherry statements too. It needs water so I console myself that I get a third of an extra bottle. However, this review is about the Arran, a distillery I like too, but I've never thought that Arran was a sherry distillery in the way that Aberlour so obviously is. In the old days Arran was best with a little bit of sherry to keep things interesting rather than a full on sherry bomb. I think the Quarter cask really highlights that ex-bourbon is always friendly with Arran.
Well said. I'm a much bigger fan of the quarter cask myself. I think sherry does suit the Arran profile, but it isn't needed. Some of the best Arrans are very distillate-driven with minimal cask influence. Cheers!
I love sherry and other fancy cask finishes, smoke flavor (Lagavulin 16), sweetness, anything that has strong flavors. Like a bottle of Finnish whiskey Teerenpeli Kaski that I'm drinking now :D
Definitely have all Arran bottles available in my are on my list, including sherry and 18 :)
Even though I didn't love this one, Arran rarely disappoints. Hope you enjoy them! Never tried a Finnish whisky. Sounds interesting! 🥃
Agree, I am fan of Arran distillery but this expression is not my thing either. There is a lot in it but sipping it is a bumpy ride. Perhaps better to use a quieter (refill) sherry cask and let it mature longer? Curious..
Yeah it did have a bit of a youthful prickle. I've come back to it since this review and it's still not doing it for me. It seems we're in the minority, though. Oh, well. Plenty of other top-notch Arrans out there for us to enjoy.
@@Gwhisky looking forward to your next adventure & review! Keep up the good work :)
@@simoneromanow2219 Thanks Simone! 🥃
Good review. Spot on with my thoughts
Thanks! 🙏
Drinking it now while watching your review. You simply need to add water, in 10 drop increments until it softens. Then leave it in the glass for a few minutes and enjoy it to the fullest. Kind regards, SF
PS: to my palette it needs 2ml or 40 drops to a standard pour
Good to know! 🥃
You should try either of the Arran James mactaggart editions. Both the 10 and 12 yr old are high 9’s IMO
They're super expensive here...
This one to me is fantastic. B++ whisky
If you have to guess on sherry, will it be Oloroso or Pedro Ximinez on the nose alone ? - - - btw, great vid.
Good question! No idea. Maybe oloroso???
Really liked this one, it smells and tastes more mature than the usual sherry bombs. It's got this well balanced nutty/chocolate biterness both in the nose and taste which is generally a sign of older whiskies?
What is the best Arran for you? Im thinking of buying this
My favourite Arran is easily the 18. It's also one of the more affordable 18 year olds on the market (sometimes).
A scÓr of eighty
fÓr
Ha - ha - ha !
Mmh. I really do like Arran though. 'Proper craft' I would say.
Really miss the [ 1 4 ] year old.
Still one of my favourite distilleries.
Honestly, I'm not sure about sherry. I'm not even a big fan of "finished" whisky.
I like a complex malty note with a chocolatey finish. I found that with Arran 10. So they hooked me, but the 14 was a bit of a disappointment and the Bothy is just "rock and roll"!
I think young cask strength bottles that are well priced is a strange trend. How many times can I get punched in the face with that much flavor?
That being said, I would pick this up in a second at the right price. And I thought $89.US was to much for the James Mactaggart 10 year
Tastes vary, etc. I don't mind finishes, but a lot of my favourite sherried whiskies have seen a full sherry maturation. That being said, I'm not opposed to finishes at all, I enjoy many of them.
Cask strength whiskies also have their place, and hopefully if they're well done, they don't feel like "getting punched." But yeah they can be pretty rough sometimes. I thoroughly enjoyed Arran's Bothy tbh, however I should say that the older batches before the label change were better than the Bothy we have now. I'll be reviewing that one very shortly.
Never tried the Mactaggart bottling, so can't really speak to its value.
Thanks for commenting!
That's a really great dram!!!
Have you tried Glenallachie 10yo CS Batch 5 yet??
I never thought you're in Taiwan. I thought u are from USA
Originally from French Canada but living in Asia for about 12 years now. 😉
I cant really agree with your review.
This is the best Arran I've tasted so far, out of 5. It's more complex than a simple sherry bomb.
Fair enough! I have friends who would agree with you. Personal taste and all that...
Cheers! 🥃
@@Gwhisky got to agree with that ;)
Cheers !
G..The thing that sets your reviews aside from most others is you do find it difficult to complement whiskies that genuinely don’t float your boat
which is what it’s about , numerous other sites let’s just say a Luning Father&Son team 🙈do a lot of umming and arring and scratching of their chins but never actually come and say ..It’s not much good , I don’t like it , your no further forward on an opinion when you’ve watched the vid ..pointless 🤣🤣
Keep telling us how it is mate please
Again, very flattered. I think the advantage of watching Horst & Ben is that they're much more informed about the distillery, its history, and the technical side of the production process. I'm more focused on just blurting out my opinions 😂.