Review #93 - Arran 10 Year

10 Year Highlander Series: Part 3 of 4

From the Lochranza Distillery we have our next 10 year old Highlander, Arran 10. Another islander, in fact, this distillery is located on the Isle of Arran, sandwiched between Campbeltown and the larger portions of the Scottish mainland. While Lochranza has generally produced whisky with no meaningful amount of peat, they have also distilled peated whisky in small quantities, which is sold under the Machrie Moor label. In recent years, to keep up with demand and access the strong market for heavily peated whisky, the owners of Lochranza have opened a sister distillery - Lagg - which will focus on more heavily peated malt.

Arran 10 Year has garnered quite a bit of acclaim in recent years, launching the Arran brand and the Lochranza distillery into the spotlight. Just one example: in the last 2 years, Arran 10 won 'Best Entry Level Single Malt' in both 2021 and 2022, as well as 'Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky' in 2021 at the Online Scotch Whisky Awards, or OSWAs. Enthusiast-driven awards like this reflect the brand's commitment to quality and flavor, as opposed to marketing fluff and luxury pricing.

Arran 10 Year

Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt

Price Paid: USD 71 (2022)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 71 (2023)

Age Statement: 10 Years

Strength: 46% ABV

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 months; bottles at 100%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: It's crisp and bright and a bit spirit forward: lots of sharper fruits of peach, dry nectarine, pineapple, and candied peach rings. There is some light, dry oak, and it adds some creamy coconut and toasted coconut notes, along with a bit of pine sap. Next we take a tropical turn: melon, a sort of lime sherbet sparkle, rum cake, and exotic orange... the ripe fruits just keep coming! White grape and pear, too, layered with some hay and mild honey. We end with a few more typical ex-bourbon notes: light nuttiness, a hint of sharp pepper, along with mild vanilla and icing sugar.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium; it's buttery and creamy, with lots of butterscotch, cinnamon, and some white pepper from the oak, which is generally dry. While the palate is generally a little more dry than the nose, the star here is still sweet, tropical fruit: loads of pineapple and peach ring candies, some unripe banana, some nectarine, just stone fruit in general. We get even lighter, brighter spirit and some floral notes, along with sweet lemon candies (not sour); the sugary notes come in again toward the back of the palate, with rum and sugary syrup, some brown sugar, and baking spices of dry vanilla and clove.

Finish: It's a medium length finish, nice and round and somewhat soft, but not lacking flavor. There are still fruits of peach and pineapple, but we add cantaloupe to the mix now, along with some butter and mineral water. There are more oak notes on this finish: some nuttiness again, light brown sugar and white pepper, and the wood is generally a bit dry and light in color.

Final Note: Simply lovely. We were a little late to the game trying this one, just snagging a bottle six to eight months ago, after the whisky had already won a number of awards and gained quite a bit of hype. For us, it's easy to see why - great quality, good presentation, reasonably priced (although that bit is climbing in our area, probably off the back of the hype). This can be an easy-sipping whisky when that's what you want, but it also has layers you can dig into with more time and effort. This gets a very strong recommendation from us.

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: 7.57