13/06/2023 Arran

Arran 17yo 1997/2014 (51.6%, The Whisky Agency & Acla da Fans Acla Selection specially selected for Whisky-Schiff Zürich 2014, Refill Sherry Cask, 120b): nose: ooft! It is a fruity number, clean and ester-y. Tart apples, unripe plums and greengages rub elbows with acetone or xylene. Soon, we have chalky, crunchy (Korean) pears, and a bunch of yellow flowers, full of sunshine, and only watered by the weather. It has a very, very faint leather nuance that may also be sprayed-on sunscreen, and burnt-hazel gratings -- picture black sawdust. In the longer run, we have raspberry eau-de-vie, which is unusual, to say the least. Tilting the glass helps surgical alcohol emerge, and I swear it transports me to the dentist's chair (is that not a great mental image, from a marketing perspective?) The second nose feels young, fruit eau-de-vie and meadow flowers, yet it is also full of thinned-out, caramelised marmalade, cinnamon powder and Gummibärchen. Most surprising is an ethereal whisper of white smoke. Retro nasal olfaction is more grassy-flowery, and we have an elegant, honeysuckle-scented Cologne. Mouth: the attack is sharp and powerful, yet, after the initial shock, the taste buds quickly resume operations, and pick up all sorts of fruits -- raspberries, apples, quince, pears. There is a some hazel sap too, burnt hazel chips, and acetone -- or xylene, more than acetone, this time around. The second sip presents an interesting duality (a split personality, one may call it), what with it displaying dried orange segments and currants, dusted with cinnamon powder, as well as a frankly-stripping cleaning agent, too acidic to handle without gloves. The fruity side triumphs, though, much to tOMoH's relief. Finish: it walks a fine line, with one foot in the bitter, almost-immature side, the other in the fruit-booze camp. All in all, it works rather well, but it is touch-and-go, for a moment. The second sip brings out sultanas. Some cinnamon powder subsists, more noticeable by the way it leaves the mouth dry than by taste. Further sipping pushes yellow fruits forward, with unripe apricots leading the dance, followed by mirabelle plums and unripe nectarines. It feels fairly chalky, which suggests quince or pears too (Korean, barlett), though it never becomes too dry. Another convincing Arran. 8/10