If a whisky is distilled in a breathtaking paradise, does that make the whisky taste better? Interesting question and we might just be inclined to say yes if Arran Single Malt whisky is the tipple.
We at Lockett Bros have to put our cards on the table from the start here and say that we fell in love not only with this whisky but with the stunning Isle of Arran itself.
The island rises triumphantly from the Firth of Clyde on Scotland’s West Coast, and when we say that it’s beautiful, we really mean it.
You might know by now that there’s few things that get us more excited than quality wines, whiskies and cycling and the Isle of Arran nails two out of three of these (Arran vineyards, anyone?). We’ve been cycling around Arran’s stupendously stunning countryside for a few years and every time we go, we discover something new.
Arran whisky is something that you most definitely have to discover. Here’s a little nugget of a reason to get excited about Arran’s offerings; it’s an independent distillery and we LOVE that, especially in an era where there are less than 20 of them in the whole of Scotland.
Isle of Arran Distillers was launched in 1995 in Lochranza at the north end of the island. When you visit Arran (and you will if you are wise) you will most definitely want to visit this place.
There probably isn’t another distillery in the world that get boast golden eagles as neighbours but the Arran Distillery isn’t just any distillery.
Okay, so we’ve made the point that the Isle of Arran and the Arran Distillery itself is something a little special so let’s talk about the stuff they’re producing because it’s equally – if not even more – exciting.
Arran Distillery might be young but they put a big emphasis on traditional methods of distilling.
That means they only use wooden washbacks and copper stills to produce their character-rich single malts.
Their whiskies are non-peated and the very idea of adding caramel colouring or anything would be enough to make their master distillers very angry.
Arran’s range is very impressive, especially for an independent distillery. Their ‘bread and butter’ single malts, if we could use such a crass term for something of such beauty, would be their 10, 12, 14 and 18 Year Old offerings. Each one of them is as unique and spellbinding as the Isle of Arran itself.
The 10 Year Old is quite rightly the flagship whisky of Isle of Arran Distillers – its vanillas and coco hits on the nose are just as epic as the spicy citrus highlights that sparkle on the palate.
And the finish? Wow. Complex subtlety is rarely done so well in a 10 Year Old single malt whisky.
Pick any one of Arran’s single malts and you’ll be rewarded, we can assure you of that.
But you’ll also be interested in the limited editions, cream liqueurs and – if you’re a proper hardcore whisky wizard – their cask offerings.
You could call Isle of Arran Distillers a young distillery but make no mistake, tradition is right at the heart of what they’re doing and the proof is in the pudding… or whisky.
One to try…
A medium-bodied, citrussy dram that shows an elegance and deftness of touch that belies the distillery’s youth. Buy it here now
