OB 10yo 46% - Arran

[TheTross]

Nose: Initially lots of honey, eucalyptus and lemon - a fair amount of bourbon character, really. Quite sweet and warming, though slightly spirity, particularly with deeper sniffs. A little malty and nutty. Perhaps a slight grassiness too. Some orange comes through after a few minutes, alongside other fruit (lime and possibly pears and a hint of grapefruit), some creamy notes and subtle mint. Also a little biscuity (digestives), hints of printer paper, pencil shavings and maybe even touches of oak. Good stuff.

Palate: Fairly fizzy and dry. Quite grassy and malty at first, then honey and light citrus. Bourbon again. Gets a little dusty.

Finish: Drying, fruity, dusty and hugely minty, with the fruit becoming drier and more citric after a short while.


A very pleasing and relatively complex nose, but it smells just like a whisky all-in-one to me at first! The palate is a little disappointing in comparison, but still exudes quality. A very good dram that surprised me somewhat.

[The Third Dram]

Arran 10 Year Old (Distillery Bottling) - 46% alcohol by volume

Colour: Bright gold with lemon yellow highlights.

Nose: Peach ginger compote, buttered crumpets and lemon zest in honey.

Body: Relatively light, but with an attractive, glycerine-like textural quality.

Palate: Ripe pears and passion fruit. Lemon vanilla cake. Almond paste. A suggestion of saltwater mist and spices deftly counterpoints the malt sweetness.

Comment: Coming along very nicely at a decade of maturity. The intrinsic quality of the distillate is noteworthy. A well rounded and approachable whisky.

(My 300th post here at WWW)