Review #481 - Arran Sherry Cask 'The Bodega'
Beginning operations in 1995, the Lochranza distillery, home of the Arran single malt, is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year - that makes them one of the oldest members of the 'new wave' of distilleries we've seen in Scotland in the past few decades. While they're perhaps most famous for an age-stated release, their 10 Year Old, they also release a range of NAS single malts that employ different cask types for maturation.
Here's one example - the Sherry Cask version, also referred to as The Bodega. This is a NAS cask strength single malt, the spirit of which matured in sherry hogsheads, though Arran doesn't specify which type. The strength comes in at 55.8% ABV, and Lochranza always bottles their single malts with integrity - no chill filtering, no artificial coloring.
Arran Sherry Cask 'The Bodega'
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 72 (2024)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 80 (2025)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 55.8% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-sherry hogsheads
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 10 months; bottles at 100%, 80%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Lots of orange and other fruit - plums, starfruit, raspberry candies. There's actually a pretty decent oak note behind that, showing a bit of maturity - perfume, cinnamon, wood oil. Ginger cookies, caramel, and honey add a sweet baking side, and with time, it gets more tropical: zesty pineapple, dates.
Palate: A thick mouthfeel, juicy and full of fruit. Prunes and blackcurrant add a darker side, while peach, mango, and apple add a lighter side. There's some spice, too - ginger, oak tannins, and cinnamon; molasses, brown sugar, and wine gums add more sweetness. There's a soft malty, honeyed, floral note in the background - heather.
Finish: Pomegranate, wine gums, strawberry, peach, orange wine - a huge fruit bouquet. Ginger and soft tannins still bring a spice, but it leans sweet. Perfumed oak, vanilla, and soft leather add more nuance; texture is still good, and the length of the finish is medium-long.
Final Note: Really tasty whisky - absolutely bursting with fruits, both light and dark. The longer this bottle was open, the more interesting the oak profile became, too: more perfumed, more musty, showing a little bit more age than we expected. There was also a good spiced side (especially ginger) to add some balance, but this definitely leaned toward the sweet side of things.
Value is pretty good, too - this sits just above entry level pricing for single malts these days, but it packs a ton of quality and flavor with that cask strength presentation. We think this is definitely worth picking up for a good sherry bomb.
Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.26
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
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