Whisky Focus - Arran 18 Year Old Joins Core Range

Arran 18 year old joins the distillery's core range.

This time last year the Isle of Arran distillery released the third and final bottle of a trilogy of limited edition releases which included a 16, 17 and finally an 18 year old limited edition expression last year. This trilogy of whiskies paved the way for an official bottling of Arran 18 year old joining the Arran core range of whiskies.

This year, in which the Isle of Arran Distillers celebrates its 21st Birthday, the distillery has launched the Arran 18 year old which will now be a permanent expression in their core range.

Anticipation for the return of the 18 Year Old Single Malt is high after the first limited run of 9,000 bottles last year rapidly sold out. The Arran Malt reaches full maturity at 18 years making this an incredibly complex and sophisticated dram.

A balanced mix of ex-Sherry and ex-Bourbon Casks, Arran describe it as gold in colour, caramelised citrus and tropical notes mingle on a background of toasted oak. They say it has the classic Arran flavours of citrus and orchard fruits combined with milk brioche and dark chocolate for a luxurious finish that lingers on the palette.

James MacTaggart, master distiller at the Isle of Arran Distillery, commented: "This is a very special bottling for us. As the most mature expression of the Arran Malt it represents the very best of the distillery in this, our 21st year.

"As the only distillery on the island, we stand for its centuries of whisky-making tradition. The 18 Year Old is a worthy reflection of this heritage with all the depth of aroma and flavour for which Arran malts have become known around the world."

The Arran 18 Year Old was bottled at 46% ABV, non chill-filtered and has no artificial colouring just as all whiskies should be, it has an RRP of £74.99 and is now available from specialist whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange
 

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