Whit's Fur Ye'll No Go Past Ye or simply Hello Everyone. In Glasgow, you might come across the unique phrase "whit's fur ye'll no go past ye." It's a way of saying that what's meant for you won't pass you by. It's a warm and endearing greeting. Today I'm back with a bottle that comes from a young and very popular distillery. As you can read in my bio: "My favourite cask maturation/finish is definitely Port followed by various wine casks and bourbon." We are checking out a single malt from the Isle of Arran from the Lochranza distillery with a port finish. Sounds interesting right? For me Arran was a whisky that strengthened my love for scotch. I was very happy to see this bottle again on the shelves so I picked one up right away. So let's see the Arran Port Cask has to offer us.

The Lochranza Distillery

The Lochranza distillery is a whisky distillery in Lochranza, Scotland, Isle of Arran. In 1994 Arran Distillers was founded by Harold Currie, former director of Chivas and a D-Day veteran, with the intention of building a distillery on Arran. The distillery, funded by private investors and the sale of bonds, opened in 1995.  There used to be about fifty distilleries on the island, but most of them were "moonlight" or illegal distilleries. 

The most recent legally founded distillery on Arran, called ''Lagg'' closed in 1837. However the Isle Of Arran distillers Ltd. re-opened Lagg in 2019.

Until recently a proportion of the casks were stored in the warehouses of Springbank, due to a lack of room in the distillery, and the legal impossibility of extending the current warehouses at the Arran distillery. However, the distillery now has a storage warehouse, on site, that allows easier access to barrels. The distillery offers a cask purchase scheme which offers private individuals the opportunity to own their own cask of whisky, which can be stored on site at the distillery.

Although Arran is a very young distillery, there are many bottlings. The core range includes the Arran 10 Years, the Arran Quarter Cask - The Bothy, and the Arran Sherry Cask - The Bodega. On the occasion of Lochranza's 25th anniversary, the Arran 25 Years old was bottled.

In addition, there is a wide range of wine finishes including Sauternes, Amarone and Port. The peated variant of Arran, the former Machrie Moor, has been produced by Lagg under their name since 2019. In addition, Lochranza has also offered an Arran Cream Liqueur with 17% alcohol content since 2004.

Arran Port Cask Finish - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 50%

"A fantastic choice at any time, particularly as an after dinner dram, especially with a delicious cheese selection."

"We are delighted to present our range of wine cask finishes Single Malt in a brand new pack for 2020. The same delicious Single Malt with a new-look pack.

After initially maturing in traditional oak casks for approximately 8 years, The Arran Single Malt in this bottling was finished in a selection of Port casks sourced from an artisan producer of this iconic Portuguese fortified wine.

The maturation process was monitored under the watchful eye of our Master Distiller, to ensure that the Port casks and the intrinsic character of The Arran Single Malt partnered with each other perfectly. The end result is a combination that's full of charm and rich flavour, and a wonderful way to discover more about the Arran range of Single Malts."

Nose: Great. Right away you are getting that lovely Arran DNA. Fresh maltiness, sea breeze, toffee and vanilla. Freshly cut grass, juicy peaches and green apples from the orchard. After this lovely freshness the port cask comes into play and makes things more complex. Grandma's fruitjam. Red fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and redcurrant. Raisins, prunes and dates. Chocolate dipped hazelnuts and almonds. A hint of oakiness and spices such as cinnamon and allspice. Complex and layered nose, it's a pleasure to have it in your glass.

Taste: Very sweet, round and smooth right away. The 50% ABV. fits this whisky very well. It's integrated quite well and there is no alcohol present at any point. Creamy vanilla and milk chocolate. A very strong and nice malty base with juicy peaches and ripe red apples. Cinnamon and allspice with a black pepper rush which I find very nice in the midst of all this sweetness. Strawberries and raspberries along with dark caramelized oranges and prunes. Hazelnuts with a hint of oakiness. Great. This is a very nice, deep and complex taste. I think this whisky has some age to it.

Finish: Long and warming with just the right amount of spices and oak. Sweet and fruity. Complex and tasty. It goes down quite well but due to the lovely long finish you are not urged to drink drink drink and drink. You can savor it at a nice and slow pace.

Overall I think this whisky is a masterpiece. Not just because I love port cask finishes but because this whisky doesn't fail to show the distillery DNA. I think it's quite important for a whisky to keep the DNA even if it's finished in a very dominant cask such as this. The distillery DNA plays quite well with this cask finish and the end product is a lovely balanced and complex whisky. I rate this 89 / 100. If you can buy this and try it. You won't be disappointed.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.