The first bottle of Arran 10 I picked up I got a big orange peel note on the palate that was a bit off putting. More recent bottlings this note is turned down a bit for me and it has become a must have for my collection.
I am bucking the trend here but I liked the old bottles better. I have 2 in the stash so I'm good. The 14 didn't do it for me at the time but the old 18 is a beautiful thing for $120 in 2019 money. You perfectly described my whisky infatuation. The fireworks start right as you swallow. I would be sipping along with Ralfy on all these beginner drams, and pretending to taste sultanas, but it was that moment of starting the finish, I decide to get another bottle or not. The Arran 10, even at this lower age, had more good notes going on. I don't know when I'll do a new 10 and I'm keeping my fingers crossed to find a new 18 at a decent price.
I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the old 18 and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I never tried the old 10 year. The new 18 was very good as well, but took me a little to fully warm up to it. Unfortunately, it has been 'temporarily' discontinued, although they released a 17 year old version last year I believe. I haven't seen that one in the US yet however.
@@WhiskyUncorked interesting that you say "warmed up to it". Since the beginner whiskies are ancient history on my journey, I've past thru the cheap official CS options and also a nice dive into sherry bombs while believing that bourbon barrels create more authentic malt. Peat is still the best part of my collection. I've learned enough to make a good choice when I see an independent bottle but the age/cost ratio is the limiting factor. You can never really be disappointed if it was less than $100. I was warming up to an 11 year Craigellachie tonight, at 54.5,% matured in a butt. What a bargain at $70! Needs a bit of water to get it to settle down. Wishing it was a little older and that I afford a more expensive whisky. As prices go up the age goes down and I fear we've all gotten used to the youth. But I also know those old 10 year old Arrans I have stashed away will not disappoint. Whisky problems..cheers
I’ve purchased the old 10, 14 and 18. For me the 14 was the big winner when considering value. The 10 is solid but a bit rough. The 14 is just a beautiful balance of malt and tropical fruit. The 18 is more rounded than the 14 with a bit more complexity and oak backbone. But the 18 was going for double the price as the 14
Enjoyed the video. You should give Balcones Lineage a try in your pursuit of tropical notes. I find a strong mango/mandarin aroma on the nose. Cheers 🥃
This was a great review - thanks (some constructive criticism.... you could trim the fat on the length of the video a little - still enjoyed it a lot - subscribed )
Nice review! As others have said, maybe trim the length a bit. The Arran 10 is bourbon matured but it has a sherry finish, and many think that it has been getting increasingly more sherried over the years. Definitely a great dram. Arran is my favorite distillery!
No coconut flavour for you? First time I opened an Arran 10 (about this time last year actually), I sniffed the neck and if I'd been blindfolded, I would've guessed that somebody was holding a pina colada under my nose. So much coconut and pineapple! I got through about 2 or 3 bottles of Arran 10 last year, and in my market it can be found for under 35 euros which means it's an 8/10 for me easy when the value is factored in.
Honestly coconut is not a flavor I typically do not even think about with Scotch. I get it in rums a lot however. I will have to look out for it next glass!
The first bottle of Arran 10 I picked up I got a big orange peel note on the palate that was a bit off putting. More recent bottlings this note is turned down a bit for me and it has become a must have for my collection.
I am bucking the trend here but I liked the old bottles better. I have 2 in the stash so I'm good. The 14 didn't do it for me at the time but the old 18 is a beautiful thing for $120 in 2019 money.
You perfectly described my whisky infatuation. The fireworks start right as you swallow. I would be sipping along with Ralfy on all these beginner drams, and pretending to taste sultanas, but it was that moment of starting the finish, I decide to get another bottle or not.
The Arran 10, even at this lower age, had more good notes going on.
I don't know when I'll do a new 10 and I'm keeping my fingers crossed to find a new 18 at a decent price.
I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the old 18 and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I never tried the old 10 year. The new 18 was very good as well, but took me a little to fully warm up to it. Unfortunately, it has been 'temporarily' discontinued, although they released a 17 year old version last year I believe. I haven't seen that one in the US yet however.
@@WhiskyUncorked interesting that you say "warmed up to it".
Since the beginner whiskies are ancient history on my journey, I've past thru the cheap official CS options and also a nice dive into sherry bombs while believing that bourbon barrels create more authentic malt. Peat is still the best part of my collection.
I've learned enough to make a good choice when I see an independent bottle but the age/cost ratio is the limiting factor. You can never really be disappointed if it was less than $100.
I was warming up to an 11 year Craigellachie tonight, at 54.5,% matured in a butt. What a bargain at $70! Needs a bit of water to get it to settle down. Wishing it was a little older and that I afford a more expensive whisky.
As prices go up the age goes down and I fear we've all gotten used to the youth. But I also know those old 10 year old Arrans I have stashed away will not disappoint.
Whisky problems..cheers
I’ve purchased the old 10, 14 and 18. For me the 14 was the big winner when considering value. The 10 is solid but a bit rough. The 14 is just a beautiful balance of malt and tropical fruit. The 18 is more rounded than the 14 with a bit more complexity and oak backbone. But the 18 was going for double the price as the 14
@@WhiskyUncorked the new 17 is absolutely stunning!
Enjoyed the video. You should give Balcones Lineage a try in your pursuit of tropical notes. I find a strong mango/mandarin aroma on the nose. Cheers 🥃
It has been a while since I picked up a Balcones bottling, but I will definitely add that one to the list. Thanks for the heads up!
This was a great review - thanks (some constructive criticism.... you could trim the fat on the length of the video a little - still enjoyed it a lot - subscribed )
Love your reviews thank you, cheers
My pleasure!
Nice review! As others have said, maybe trim the length a bit. The Arran 10 is bourbon matured but it has a sherry finish, and many think that it has been getting increasingly more sherried over the years. Definitely a great dram. Arran is my favorite distillery!
Thank you for the feedback! Definitely a favorite of mine as well
No coconut flavour for you?
First time I opened an Arran 10 (about this time last year actually), I sniffed the neck and if I'd been blindfolded, I would've guessed that somebody was holding a pina colada under my nose. So much coconut and pineapple! I got through about 2 or 3 bottles of Arran 10 last year, and in my market it can be found for under 35 euros which means it's an 8/10 for me easy when the value is factored in.
Honestly coconut is not a flavor I typically do not even think about with Scotch. I get it in rums a lot however. I will have to look out for it next glass!
18 minutes is not a quick review! As a new whiskytuber you might want to do shorter reviews.
Thanks for the feedback!