Arran's 18 Year Old represents the distillery at maturity. Eighteen years is a significant age for a distillery that only opened in 1995, and each bottle of the 18 is drawn from a finite pool of spirit laid down during Arran's earliest years of production. Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, bottled at 46% without chill filtration or added colour.
The sherry influence is considerably more pronounced than in the 10 Year Old, which is predominantly bourbon-matured. At eighteen years, the sherry casks have had time to embed their character deeply into the spirit, producing a whisky that is richer, darker, and more complex than anything else in the core range. The bourbon casks provide the citric brightness that is Arran's hallmark; the sherry adds depth and gravitas.
The nose is loaded with fruit: apricots, peaches, orange, dried fruits, chocolate, and sharp Indian spices — heady and aromatic. The palate is sweet and sour in equal measure, with a fantastic oily texture: dried fruits, orange, dark chocolate, sherry, marzipan, black pepper, orange blossoms, and red berries. The interplay between fruit and spice is exceptional.
The finish is lovely, medium-long, with dried fruits and spices, and a wonderful sweetness that lingers. It is a powerful whisky with considerable sherry influence, but the Arran spirit's natural brightness keeps it from becoming heavy. For those who have followed Arran from its debut, the 18 is the vindication — proof that the island's newest distillery can produce whisky of genuine stature.
