29/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 3)

Today, we take the automobile, keen not to repeat yesterday's frustrations with the bus. Driver's drams are provided everywhere anyway. The journey is short. We park and go straight to the shop, which is much more bearable than yesterday.

En route to the shop, we meet this

We complete the collection and are made to sample a few interesting things (for confirmation, you understand). In come MR and Mr. MR, her fabled husband. They have been married for a couple of years, and we have not yet met him. He actually exists. With that running gag out of the way, we all join JL and CH on the grass outside. Mr. MR came in last night from Glasgow, and is the welcome bearer of Tantrum Doughnuts. Seeing as we ran out last night, needless saying he is our hero. They are for JL's birthday, however, so we (I) must exercise some restraint. Etiquette and all that. Fortunately, there are drams to take my mind off them. Short notes; the setting is not exactly adapted.

Like most distilleries it seems, Lochranza is home to songthrushes

Lochranza 9yo 2015/2025 (57.1%, Jewish Whisky Company Single Cask Nation, 1st Fill Sherry Hogshead, C#153118, 316b) (CH)

Nose: cola and a bit of rancio.
Mouth: spicy cola, a mix of caramel and Kola Kubes.
Finish: big, boisterous, overflowing with spicy cola.
Comment: as often stated, the thing with Arran is that there is no real dud, once we skip the "creative" early finishes. 7/10

Devil's the avocado is
enjoying himself too

Islay (unknown ABV, unknown bottler, ex-Glenfarclas Cask) (CH)

Nose: dark, mossy earth, prunes.
Mouth: earthy prunes indeed, topped with liquorice shavings and smoked clay.
Finish: long, warm.
Comment: from a blind hipflask and no bottling details, this alleged Kilchoman is perfect, here on the lawn. 7/10

JS once more brings back the goods from the barbecue. It is regular burgers only, today: despite lunchtime being less than an hour in the rear-view mirror (it is 13:37), they are out of vegetarian options, or indeed everything else. Seems like a miscalculation, but what does tOMoH know?

On my way to try and catch someone (I forget whom), I interrupt a conversation, one part of which is pouring Isle of Arran 10yo b.2012 (55.7%, OB for Spirit of Stirling Whisky Festival, 156b, b#128) talk about an exclusive drop! 7/10

Once more, everyone present is gathered in the tent for a "special event" at 14:29. We cross fingers that it is more eventful than yesterday's underwhelm...

After a moment or two, Euan Mitchell rises to the stage and delivers a speech to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of this here distillery.

EM: "People have travelled from all over the world: Belgium, Taiwan, Shiskine…"

He then hands over to Campbell Laing (remember him from yesterday?) who wrote a poem for the occasion and reads it.

Following on comes Stewart Bowman, Distillery Manager at Lochranza, who concocted a dram for this moment. He clears the air immediately: there is no thirty-year-old stock (the first distillation would turn thirty tomorrow), so he opted to blend juices from 1995, 2005 and 2015. That makes the sample we all received a 9yo or 10yo whisky, in other words. The speeches fall a bit short, in terms of time, so there is a funny gap before we count down to 14:29, the precise time the spirit flowed for the first time, in 1995. When we reach zero, we try the whisky. I take no notes (what is the point? It is not otherwise available and there is no other information about it, not even an ABV), but I rate it 8/10.

Finally, a clearly-nervous Duncan Ritchie of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland introduces and plays his tune The Road to Lochranza, which he wrote for the occasion (and for the accordion). A good tune it is too!

It becomes clear that this this 14:29 climax signalled the informal end of the festival. I try to catch Ritchie to laud his tune, but he disappears like a jet-setter. adc, JS and I decide to make a move. MR explains she is stuck until the bus: someone else drove her, this morning. She has to take the car, but she left her keys where she is staying. Not to worry! We drive off to Brodick, where we drop off MR and Mr. MR. From there, we continue to Lamlash, where adc want to see a monument to the clearances from a closer distance. The weather is so nice we spend a while on the seafront, watching the ballet of gannets fishing.

They are easy to recognise in good weather: they glow in the sun

Comes the time to return to Brodick for a nap.

With a halt at the imaginatively-named Viewpoint Carpark

This evening, we have a reservation at the Douglas Hotel where we join old and new friends for dinner.

One brought this that we will never try

Moules Marinières (adc)

Falafel Burger (JS)

Seafood Korma (me)

We also destroy a plate of dirty fries with haggis

JS has an Arran Anvil

I go for the Pornstar Martini for shock value

Everything is delicious, and the slow service does not diminish our enjoyment too much.

Being a large-ish group, the discussion never goes too deep and, since we are in a restaurant, it feels inappropriate to pour our own whiskies. Against MR's plans, we all decline an after-party. We are in bed before midnight.

We even manage to dodge JL's Connie the Caterpillar cake

They have a map of the Benelux behind the bar

28/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 2 -- Part 3)

After crawling out of the warehouse, JS and I find adc and MR on the front lawn. With no further organised event to attend, we are free to socialise and enjoy the clement weather, whilst sharing drams.

Glen Garioch 10yo 2014/2025 (56.2%, Little Brown Dog, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels, 337b) (MR)

Nose: ester-y vanilla and fudge with mint.
Mouth: full, creamy and custard-y. This is like biting into a hazelnut-custard doughnut.
Finish: some wood -- woody custard, if that makes sense.
Comment: we are outside, it is windy. It is hard to make this one tell us everything it has to say. Lovely drop, though. Unpretentious, it does the trick. A strong 7/10

Marketing genius

We chill out on the lawn and generally have a good time. JS comes back with goodies from the food truck. They do not have much choice left, but there is at least a vegetarian option.

This faux-burger

Soon, everyone is gathered into the tent for an "impending speech by the boss." After fifteen minutes sitting and waiting, no speech, and no boss. In the meantime, I am working my way through one of the several drams of Arran 13yo 2011/2024 (57.3%, OB Private Cask for Lochranza Distillery, ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#2011/567, 225b).

Since the big speech is a non-event, we consider our options home: in fact, everyone, rudely interrupted in their lawn activities, now seems to try to escape. We discover that the next bus, at 17:13, goes to the west of the island. Ours leaves at 18:39, giving us two hours of loitering, with nothing happening for entertainment, friends fast leaving the scene, and the evening chill calmly settling in.

We board the 17:13 after all, minutes after a local cracks open a can of cider. Unsurprisingly, he is not allowed on the bus with it, so elects to have a large swig, then leave the rest at the bus stop.

The bus heads to Blackfootwater, where we are to alight to board another bus.

En route, we spot an albino heron, seals perched on emerged rocks, peacocks and pheasants in a field. Once in Blackwaterfoot, the driver admits it is the same bus to Brodick, and we may as well stay on, though he will stretch his legs.

It allows JS to shoot this ringed plover (with camera, obvsl)

It is shorter going across the island, thankfully, and we are there in no time. A short stroll up the hill, and we are at our accommodation. For dinner tonight, we will have our last Tantrum doughnuts, before calling it an early night.

Meanwhile, in Lochranza, the Wasted Wolf is cut loose

28/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 2 -- Part 2): The Select Exclusives: Single Cask Edition

JS and I join a group of others in a warehouse for this tasting led by Billy Patton who has been at the distillery for many years as a tour guide.

The man, protected by a double barrel fence

Dram #1

Nose: black bun (JS). Indeed, this has all sorts of dried fruits to introduce fried eggs served with seared berries.
Mouth: huge, it has dried grapefruit and blush-orange peels.
Finish: oh! wow. Macerated prunes, jellied figs... This is fruity and never-ending. Perhaps not overly complex (or we do not have enough time to fully grasp that complexity), but it does everything in harmony.
Comment: how to win your audience? Start with the oldest whisky in the house. In this case, it is a belter to boot.

Arran 28yo 1995/2024 (49.3%, OB Single Cask for Lochranza Distillery, ex-Sherry Hogshead, C#1995/396, 285b, b#065) 9/10

Dram #2

Comment: one sniff and JS recognises this as the first dram we had at the previous tasting. Sure enough, it is the same Bourbon cask for the distillery's shop. What an infuriating lack of co-ordination!

Arran 13yo 2011/2024 (57.3%, OB Private Cask for Lochranza Distillery, ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#2011/567, 225b, b#057)

Dram #3

Nose: crumbled Madeira biscuits followed by smoked strawberries. Suede, white Port (or am I dreaming that up?), and brambles come out as one tilts the glass.
Mouth: wow! This is fiery-and-a-half. Squashed raspberries and blueberries. Chewing releases chalk, sherbet, and fruit-scented chalk gratings. The second sip is more wine-y and chalkier, which makes it less pleasant for this taster. Limestone lathered with jam.
Finish: it is very fruity, almost too fruity, borderline vulgar. This certainly walks a tightrope. It becomes a little tannic at second gulp.
Comment: divisive, as can be expected. Some love it, others are less taken. It is objectively decent, but not really my thing.

Arran 11yo 2012/2024 (56.5%, OB Private Cask, 6.5y in ex-Bourbon Cask + 3.5y Shiraz Cask Finish, C#19-VA-1053, 419b, b#021) 7/10

Dram #4

Nose: red wine, plain and simple. A bit of breathing gives mushroom earth (the bits of earth that stick to the foot of a mushroom), and smashed blackberries. Maybe we detect cigar leaves and chocolate spread at second nosing.
Mouth: this is another story, in terms of appeal! It feels much more balanced and inviting than the nose, with myrtles, blackberries, brambles and blackberry-soaked cigar leaves. Further notes are similar to what we found on the nose, but it somehow works a lot better as a whole. It turns drying at second sip before piling up jam and marmalade.
Finish: long, berry-laden, it presents a certain bitterness (mixed peel) and loads of fruits.
Comment: convincing.

The Arran Malt 16yo 2001/2017 (48.8%, OB Private Cask Selection Specially Selected for Bodegas Tradicion, Palo Cortado Cask Finish, C#2001/687, 375b, b#16) 8/10

Billy calls on Paul, whose last name I do not write down, to introduce the next dram. Paul is the man who selected the cask. Billy thought that most of us would enjoy an opportunity to try this year's single cask bottling for the festival, since it is not available at the bar.

Paul: "It was hard to choose the right cask, because some people like Bourbon casks, while others prefer Sherry casks... And some people like whisky, don't they."

Dram #5

Nose: mint lozenges, vanilla, maybe some botanicals, then the rum takes off and we sniff dried pineapple. The second nose has custard.
Mouth: it is super-fruity, here, with grapefruit and pineapple. Phwoar! As so many Rum-cask-matured whiskies, it is a tad mineral, drying and rocky, quarry chippings mingle with Demerara sugar. The second sip has this amazing blend of citrus, pineapple and berries.
Finish: similarly-fruity notes -- banana, pineapple, grapefruit. The second gulp seems punchier and adds roasted papaya and pineapple.
Comment: lovely.

Arran 12yo 2012/2025 Thirtieth Anniversary (54.5%, OB The Festival Single Cask, ex-First Fill Rum Cask, C#18-RUM-1008, 240b) 8/10

Billy introduces his second guest: Campbell Laing, Arran's first tour guide, who was his mentor. I remember Campbell from our first visit, in 2008. I stole a few lines from his routine, while other aspects impressed me less: at the end, he poured a nip of whisky for the boys, and Arran Gold for the girls, boldly assuming that is what they would prefer. Ha! Ha!

Campbell [to punter]: "Where in East Asia are you from?"
Punter: "East Ayrshire."

Good tasting, all in all. It covered a wide range of flavours, and it felt authentic, with genuine anecdotes. The atmosphere in a warehouse is always a positive contribution too, tOMoH finds.

Campbell, Billy, Paul

28/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 2 -- Part 1): Arran Around the World

Isle of Arran has not arranged a bus, this year, unlike in 2022. All festivalgoers rely on the regular service from Brodick to Lochranza (and beyond), which makes for a packed bus indeed.

A packed bus indeed.

Fortunately, it is but a short ride, one in which tOMoH listens to gauge others, to try and figure out their place in the whisky world, hear which festivals they go to, whom they know et caetera. As is typical, some are more reserved, while others are keen to spread their knowledge and establish their dominance. All good fun.

We reach the distillery in good time. There, we start queueing for the festival bottles (as one does). It is a Scottish queue: there are two, not clearly marked, with one lady timidly explaining once in a while that one is for the whole shop, the other for the festival bottlings only. To try and combine our shopping, we opt to remain in the one for the whole shop; sadly, it is not moving quickly. There are three ladies manning the unique till, and between them, they manage to process one customer every four minutes on average. There are about thirty people ahead of us; you do the math. In their defence, some of those customers seem as interested in a good chat or a recommendation than in helping keep the queue at a manageable level. Sigh. When it is our turn at last, we are done in about twenty seconds. We do not even procure anything other than the festival bottles, so this has been a pure waste of time. Bah! By the time we are done, we just have time for a pit stop before our first tasting.

Let the games begin

Lucy MacKay and Heather Robertson host this first tasting. We know Lucy from an online tasting in 2021, but Heather is new to us.

Lucy in action

Dram #1

Nose: typical Bourbon-barrel scents, with vanillin and orchard fruits, as well as lemon and Custard Cream biscuits. It has something more spirit-y too, luckily balanced out by an emerging melon aroma. The second nose has honey and spring flowers.
Mouth: bright, lemon-y, the palate is augmented with heated apples and warm Custard Cream biscuits. It is a tad more acidic at second sip, and we discover grapefruit segments.
Finish: yes, same Bourbon-barrel action in the finish, citrus peel (minus the bitterness) and orchard fruits. The second gulp brings white wood and some spices.
Comments: a decent-enough cask, but starting a tasting about single casks dedicated to other regions with a bottling done for the distillery shop that lies ten metres from where we sit, the very shop in which we were not thirty minutes ago, in which we could try the very same bottling, is not a little difficult to swallow. 

Arran 13yo 2011/2024 (57.3%, OB Private Cask for Lochranza Distillery, ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#2011/567, 225b, b#199) 7/10

Dram #2

Nose: raisins and prunes, soaked almonds. Not much more to it than that, really, but it is rather nice. I find it a little earthy, and, indeed, it is from an Oloroso cask. The second nose has a hint of liquorice alongside shaving foam, and a few white-wood shavings.
Mouth: almond skins, pickled red onions, yet also a faint sweetness. Chewing releases prunes, dates and figs. Grape juice and pressed apples rock up at second sip. It flirts with candied apples, over time.
Finish: it is very sweet, now, dark, with plums, prunes, dried figs, and the tiniest hint of dried earth. The second gulp sees fermented peaches or cured apricots.
Comment: Heather talks at length about this Canadian shop, how they had two or three (refill?) Sherry hogsheads bottled for them in the past, and how surprised she was when they selected a much-larger butt for this one. I venture that "Sherry butt" is a much better seller than "Refill Sherry hogshead." It appears that had not occurred to her.

Arran 9yo 2013/2023 (58.2%, OB Private Cask specially selected for Kensington Wine Market Celebrating 30 Years Wine Market, Sherry Butt, C#2013/0930, 516b, b#001) 7/10

Dram #3

Nose: this is drier and woodier, mostly hazelwood. Lighter tones emerge slowly: Smyrna, white wood, plane shavings, maybe a mineral note. The second nose holds milk chocolate, and even white chocolate.
Mouth: a mix of green grapes and birch. This is sappy! The second sip has roasted apples, sour and full of pips, which adds bitterness. This is good.
Finish: thick, coating, reminiscent of Lyle's Golden Syrup. Perhaps it is date syrup? The second gulp is darker, presenting cured white peaches.
Comment: look, this is a decent cask again, make no mistake. However, considering how many Arran fans stem from the Benelux, offering a cask that was bottled from Germany is a faux pas: one can walk into Germany from the Benelux. Chances are many here have tried this in the past. The point of this tasting was to give "the opportunity to try some regional exclusive drams from over the years," this is probably a squandered opportunity.

The Arran Malt 16yo 2000/2016 (58.7%, OB Private Cask Selection Specially selected by Kammer Kirsch, Sherry Oak, C#2000/225, 258b, b#258) 7/10

Punter: "Where does the maritime feel come from?"
tOMoH: "The sea."

The temperature is rising, here! It is becoming uncomfortable.

Dram #4

Nose: hazelnut chocolate that feels nuttier and nuttier with each passing second. Nuts are how the Swiss hide the poor quality of their chocolate, of course, so this is very relevant, since it is a bottling for Switzerland. ;-) It eventually turns sweeter, with smashed strawberries and blackcurrants.
Mouth: rounder than its predecessors, this offers raspberry jelly, strawberry jam and a dollop of marmalade. It is sweet, yet balanced. We pick up a few fermented grapes at second sip.
Finish: long and wine-y while remaining balanced, it juggles blackcurrants and blueberries with a glass of red wine. Fruity, it has more and more berries in this long, vibrant finish.
Comment: Arran in Amarone cask always does the trick, and this is no exception.

The Arran Malt 7yo 2008/2016 (58.4%, OB Private Cask Selection for Switzerland, 6y in ex-Bourbon Cask + 1y in 3rd Ca'Rugate Amarone Wine Cask, C#2008#853, 239b, b#239) 7/10

Heather: "[Arran is] Rooted in tradition with an innovative mindset."

Cringe.

Annoyingly, we are behind schedule. We have one minute left for the final dram.

Dram #5

Nose: baked mud patties, smoked bacon, smoked earth, peat-smoked mud, cow dung (adc), smoked berries (of the straw kind, to be precise).
Mouth: soft, custard-y, perhaps with added berry jam. We have smoked myrtles, smashed blackberries, and a pinch of citrus zest so dry it is almost tasteless.
Finish: long, bold, smoky, it has remnants of a barbecue.
Comment: the best dram of the line-up, which is surprising, as I am not much of a peat head. Funnily enough, it was also selected for the furthest market, the sort of regions I hoped this tasting would explore more, rather than countries within spitting distance. Ah, well.

The Arran Malt 8yo 2011/2020 (56.1%, OB Private Cask Selection imported by Japan Import System specially selected for Whisk-e, Bourbon Barrel, C#11/1824) 8/10

Very polished, corporate presentation, scripted, even, which also means generic and fairly bland. Heather seemed to try and one-up Lucy several times, which felt awkward. I thought they could have read the room better: sure, some talked and reacted as if they had discovered whisky two weeks ago, but others have clearly been part of the Arran journey since the distillery opened in Lochranza, thirty years ago, and want a bit more than being told how whisky is made.

27/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 1 -- Part 1): The Orchard Visit

Lagg distillery, the location of our adventures, today

A wild orchid

It is chucking down when we wake up from our nap in the distillery car park. Luckily, we have come prepared! Waterproof trousers on, we are in for the orchard tour with Big Davie.

The orchard is hidden in plain sight

It is an excellent experience with only us three (JS, adc, tOMoH): Big Davie tells us there are four more people on site, but they rocked up with inadequate clothing and footwear, and will therefore hear the story from the distillery's balcony. Tourists.

We hear all about how to grow and maintain apple trees, how they are better off protected from the wind by a screen of willows, how hares chew the bark to reach the sap, the use of reedbeds, the local fauna and flora.

A screen of willows protects the apple trees

The trunk is swaddled to stop hares eating the bark

Apples

More apples

Reedbeds

Who is this?

We inadvertently disturb a lapwing watching over her chicks, hear how Arran is a burial ground, and generally have a wonderful time.

The lapwing may have had other worries, after all

We join the group on the balcony to sample a dram and receive a can of the cider made (not on site) with the apples from the orchard.

Lagg (59.1%, OB Exclusive Bottling for Lagg Distillery, Finished in ex-Tequila Casks): nose: does what it says on the tin, don't it? Smoke and agave. There you are. There is roasted barley, strawbales and a veil of smoke wrapping the whole, succulent plants, cactuses/cacti (both are correct, it seems) full of water after a tropical rain, drier cacti in a planter on a window sill, and, lastly, lemon and lime zest. This is one for margarita drinkers. Tilting the glass increases the agave note. The second nose offers cocoa powder -- Nesquik in that yellow corrugated-plastic container, to be precise, container included. We also find lime zest sprinkled on limestone, and the smoke from a citrus tree on fire. It gains a medicinal touch, in the long run, some disinfectant or another, especially when tilting the glass (turning it upside down, really). Mouth: it starts off fresh and zesty, with an inimitable acidic-sweet touch that lime gives off. Chewing unleashes a fury of smoky agave and soot. It is like walking through a burning agave plantation once controlled by a Mexican cartel. The acidity morphs into a mild bitterness, and gives smoked agave topped with sugarcane juice. It has lots of tobacco too, and catch myself thinking of the banana cigars sonicvince brought back from a trip to Thailand. Here and there, we spot a drop of lime juice, yet it is nowhere near as clear as on the nose, now. The second sip is even closer to tequila. Agave, mouldy sugar crystals, dried algae and kelp crushed into a powder. Salt makes a late appearance on the top front of the mouth. Repeated sipping adds a clear note of disinfectant on the palate too, likely oxygenated water. Finish: without being aggressive, it is quite a punch in the throat. Green, smoky and a little mineral, it has stone dust, dried freshwater algae, crushed cactus, and lime zest so dry it is but a green, rocky dust. The second gulp is fruitier and adds yellow to the green, so to speak. Unripe pomelo, unripe-pineapple bark, salted lime wedges, lime zest freshly grated off the skin, and unripe clementines or bergamots rub elbows with agave and cactus. It proves saltier and drying in the long run too, hardly balanced by a pinch of sugar crystals. This is decent, if not for everyone. It is not entirely for me. 6/10 (I finally try this on 25/07/2025)

Ayrshire Riviera Cider (7.2%, OB): nose: it smells fresh and sparkly -- ha! ha! It has a faint fruit smell, but I say 'sparkly' as in sparkling water, which means it is much more neutral than cider tends to be. Funnily enough, it does not sparkle very much in the glass, however. Closer nosing, without surprise, reveals apple juice and... cider. Ahem. Further on, it has some apples that are badly bruised. The second nose is a bit more fragrant. Oh! we are not talking about Golden Delicious apples; rather Cortland of Fallawater. Mouth: sparkling water indeed, even if it really is almost flat on the taste buds. Chewing stirs up pressed apples, and, let us be clear, they are not of a very-juicy kind, but dry and acidic. Again, bruised and sour apples, acidic, fermenting, yet not all that juicy. At 7.2%, it feels watered down -- and it is: Big Davie tells us they could not bring the ABV any lower for fear of denaturing the result too much. Bear in mind that that is high for a (UK) cider. The second sip sparkles a tad more on the tongue, still closer to sparkling water with a slice of apple in it than any other cider I have tasted (granted that is not a long list). Generally speaking, cider tends to be more intense than this, in my experience. Finish: sour, it tastes of fermentation -- a taste that lingers. It is apples alright, yet a cultivar that goes from unripeness to decay without passing through a juicy-sweet state. It is not unpleasant, it feels and tastes more authentic, yet it will likely struggle to woo most consumers and, therefore, to meet commercial success. The second gulp adds plasters to the mix, and a firm bitterness. We are back with unripe fruits, in other words. Cobblestones or refrigerated pebbles show up late in the game, which is unexpected. tOMoH loves the idea of an orchard and salutes the initiative to make cider with the apples of that orchard. He finds it more of a curiosity than an experience to repeat endlessly, though. 5/10 (I finally try this on 25/07/2025)

With a little time ahead of us, we grab a portion of Dirty Haggis Chips from the cafeteria and browse the shop

Potato chips are a huge step-up from last time