Arran Barrel Reserve

Arran Barrel Reserve, bottled at 43%, the Barrel Reserve emphasizes the delicious, sweet fruit notes which are the hallmark of our distillery. New release being entirely sherry based. It should be around 7-8 years of age. A fantastic discovery! The brand new Barrel Reserve is a fresh, light and elegant no-age-statement Single Malt Scotch Whisky. It is 100% matured in Bourbon Barrels and is going to become your go-to dram for every occasion – to be served neat, with ice or in a longer drink or cocktail.

The Barrel Reserve suffers from the lower strength of 43% and given the age of the contents; I expected more substance. It is priced at the lower end of the official single malt market range, which helps, but is fairly pedestrian for an entry level stepping stone whisky. Upping to 46% may have been more beneficial and less of the lightly filtered as well please. However, it is what it is at the end of the day. For a couple of quid more you can have the Deanston Virgin Oak and to me that option seems better value.

Arran 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. During the construction of the distillery, a pair of golden eagles built their nest on a cliff near the distillery; since golden eagles are a protected species, construction of the distillery was temporarily halted. 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.