Arran American Barrel Reserve 43% Review (And trip to the Isle of Arran)

Isle of Arran American Barrel Reserve 43%. 70cl.

From Lochranza Distillery

Lochranza Distillery (Isle of Arran) lies almost equal distance from Glasgow to its right, as it is to Islay on its left. Before COVID, it boasted the most amount of visitors of any Scottish distillery, (extraordinarily, this statistic includes all of the famous distilleries in Speyside), even though you need a ferry to get on and off the island.

The Name of the Distillery

The original name of the distillery when it was founded back in 1995, was “Isle of Arran” and it was known as Arran Distillery. However, ever since the same company built a second distillery on the island, which they called “Lagg” (not to be confused with Lagavulin distillery on the isle of Islay, which is affectionately called “Lag” by its many fans), the management decided to henceforth, use the name “Lochranza” to refer to the original distillery in the North (being that it is situated in the town of Lochranza), and “Lagg” for the distillery in the South of the island. However, the now official name of Lochranza, as far as I can tell, is pretty much ignored by all except Wikipedia and the Malt Whisky Year Book 2021, especially when you consider that the brand name for their Single Malts made at the distillery are still labelled “Arran”.  (The bottle however does have Lochranza Distillery embossed on it, although most would miss this detail).

If you don’t count the review of the two Machrie Moor Heavily Peated editions from the same distillery, which I reviewed back in May 2019, which don’t have the same “Isle of Arran” branding, this is the first review of an actual “Isle of Arran” bottling I have done. Up until the new branding back in 2019, all old Arran bottlings (excluding those two just mentioned), have been either Ex-Sherry or Ex-Wine fully matured or finished, so you won’t have seen them presented here, on my Kosher Whisky Review blog.

With the new Arran (Lochranza) branding, they now include two single malts in their new regular line up suitable for the Mehadren drinker, that is, the Quarter Cask “The Bothy” edition and the one I am reviewing today, the American Barrel Reserve.

I was fortunate enough to try both these editions when we visited the distillery back in November 2019. Unfortunately, though, “The Bothy” has not as yet reached the shores of the Land of Israel. However, the good news is that the American Barrel Reserve (as well as an 18-Year-Old which is matured in Sherry casks so we won’t talk about that), has just arrived in Israel this month and is being sold through the Derech HaYayin (Wine Route) chain of wine stores.

My planned Trip to the UK, put on hold AGAIN!

(Note: If you don’t wish to wade through all my musings and ramblings, and just want to read the review then feel free to skip down to where it says “Isle of Arran New Bottlings Arrive in Israel”).

At the time of writing this, my plans for a forthcoming visit to the UK (half business and all pleasure), in order to visit some Scottish distilleries, have been put on hold (yet again), due to the sky rocketing infection rates in the UK and Israel placing Great Britain on the red list.

I cannot help think about my grand-children growing up here in Israel, in this era of masks, frequently being sent home from “gan” due to a Covid scare and international travel restrictions, that they will grow up not knowing the freedoms we used to take for granted only a year and a half ago. It upsets me so much that I have not seen my parents since November 2019 (when I last visited the UK) and that my grandkids only know my parents from photos and the occasional Zoom family get-together.

I really do hope, Be’ezras Hashem that Covid and all the restrictions that come with it, will eventually disappear and fade into the distant past, and will not Chas VeShalom, become part of our permanent daily lives, meaning that we and our children, and children’s children, will start talking about the “Pre-Covid” and “Covid” era, but instead will very soon, Be’ezrat Hashem, be talking about the much promised but still so distant “Post”-Covid era.

Our Trip to the Isle of Arran

So it is that I look back with nostalgic memories at our November 2019 trip to Scotland. Looking at the AA map of Great Britain with my dear wife one evening, I came up with the suggestion that wouldn’t it be fun to drive to Scotland and instead of driving all around the coastline to get to Campbeltown, (where we had rented our self-catering caravan), to instead, ferry-hop to the isle of Arran, visit the distillery there and then ferry-hop to the Kintyre region in order to get to Campbeltown.

Back then it was so easy to organise flights, rent a car, book ferry tickets and plan a fun 5-day trip in Scotland. We invited my parents to come along and they readily agreed. My wife and I arrived on the Thursday evening having flown into Luton from Ben Gurion airport and complaining about the long security queues. My parents had already been out to Temple Fortune and processed a long shopping list for the trip and everything was ready, food all wrapped and labelled in the freezer, bags of equipment waiting to be loaded onto our pre-ordered rented Toyota Rav4.

We spent a relaxing and quite Shabbos with my parents in Essex. Then, Motzei Shabbos, we loaded up the rental car and headed off at around 11pm. We were on the M11 within 10 minutes, then up to Cambridge and were soon on the A1(M) heading towards Scotch corner and the A66 to Carlisle. Then it was a short sprint up the M6 which, after the sign reading “Welcome to Scotland”, magically turns into the A74(M) and a welcome rest stop at Gretna Green.

We arrived at Ardrossan Ferry Port with plenty of time to spare. Time for a quick shluf and then we queued up to board the ferry.

Looking back on Ardrossan Ferry Port

Isle of Arran, here we come..

We boarded the ferry bang on time and after a really enjoyable and relaxing trip which included watching the sun come up over the sea, Shacharis, breakfast, a trip to the ferry shop and walk around the deck taking photos of the stunning scenery, we arrived at Brodick Ferry Terminal on the Isle of Arran. The weather, despite the threat of rain, was cold but sunny with clear skies.

Whilst touring Scotland, rain is not your enemy. The real adversary to enjoying your visit is fog.

Now on the island, we drove up the A841 coastal road, admiring the beautiful scenery, until we reached Lochranza. 

There was a big sign post welcoming us to Arran Distillery and we pulled into the car park. I spent over an hour chatting with Peter, the visitors centre manager, (who I had arranged to meet some months earlier via email).

The Bottles I bought and brought back from Scotland.
(If you are wondering, yes, I went through the Red channel and paid the Custom taxes).

I bought a special 11 Year-Old, Distillery Only (meaning that it is only available for purchase in the distillery), Single Cask, Ex-Bourbon release (see picture above), as well as a whisky water crystal glass jug with “Isle of Arran Distillery” printed on the side and some 5cl miniatures of the two “Kosher" Single Malts (as mentioned above), in order to enjoy them in the evenings during our trip. We then sat down on one of the picnic tables outside within the grounds of the distillery to eat a lovely pre-prepared picnic lunch.

We said our goodbyes to Arran distillery and then drove the short distance up to Lochranza Ferry terminal port to wait for our connecting ferry to Kintyre. I say Terminal port but it actually consisted of a small unmanned heated wooden hut for waiting passengers, and a small gate separating us and a shear drop into the sea. My parents had another shluf in the hut whilst my wife and I went for a walk.

I'm not being paid by Toyota to advertise their cars, it's just that the Rav4 is a great vehicle to tour Scotland.

The ferry, at first only a small dot on the horizon, gradually became larger and larger and finally arrived at the port. This ferry was a lot smaller than the first. No café or shop with just an indoor kiosk selling snacks and drinks.

Heading towards Tarbert

Looking back towards Lochranza

The Rav4 parked in the hold and first in line to exit the ferry

It was a short and smooth trip to Tarbert Ferry Terminal where we met up with the A83. Then it was a straight road all the way to Campbeltown, admiring the amazing triple coastal scenery as we went. Being a narrow peninsula, we had the incredible experience of seeing sea to our left, sea to our right and sea straight in front of us. We arrived in our rental luxury caravan just outside Campbeltown in the early evening, exhausted but very happy.

After a delicious soup followed by Fish and vegetables dinner, we sat down and admired the stunning view from our living room window of the nearby islands of Gigha and Cara.

It was then that I opened two of our Arran miniature 5cl bottles. One for me, one for my father.

Rough Tasting Notes made by my father and I, in Campbeltown November 2019, (after visiting the Arran distillery earlier in the day). 

Appearance

Natural pale lemon straw colour. Even after adding really cold water the whisky remained crystal clear, indicating strongly that, unlike all previous bottlings, this release was chill-filtered.

Aroma

Lemon sherbet, Lemon sorbet, Wood furniture store, Sweet light cider in new oak, Honey dew melon, Yellow apples, Vanilla cream, Caramel, Banana.

Taste

Sauvignon Blanc, White pepper, Slight Oily ness, Salad dressing lemon vinaigrette, Sauterne.

Finish

Caramelized Banana, Dry White wine and spices on the medium finish.

“Miniature” Conclusions

Look, in my experience, any Scotch will taste delicious whilst you are relaxing, enjoying the company of your family whilst sat facing incredible scenery in the middle of the Scotland. Therefore, I reserved judgement of this single malt for a later time where I could drink it in a neutral environment. Did we enjoy this whisky experience though? Absolutely! It was filed away in that section of my mind labelled “Simcha”.

In addition, I made a mental note that we should, at some point, revisit the beautiful island of Arran and spend a few days there and not just a few hours.

Perhaps in a later article I’ll describe the rest of the trip which consisted of an entire day in Campbeltown visiting the famous Cadenheads Independent bottling whisky shop, Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia distilleries. The next day we took the first early morning ferry from Kennacraig to Port Ellen on Islay and did a whirl-wind tour of “The Whisky Island” (where we got to visit the newest distillery there, Ardnahoe), leaving on the last ferry from Port Askaig to take us back to the main land. That was something special.

After thoughts

Having not sat down with my father and enjoyed a good whisky (or even not so good one) together for almost 2 years, and now, even if I did get to the UK, Scotland, what’s the point? I hear that the place is in semi-lockdown. Almost all the visitor’s centres are closed, staff are on extended leave. It’s all very depressing.

At least however, we can still, Baruch Hashem, go to our local wine store and buy a ready supply of wonderful Single Malts from Scotland and enjoy them here in Israel, and anywhere you else you might be, be it the UK, USA, Europe and even Singapore.

Isle of Arran New Bottlings Arrive in Israel

So, a few Wednesday afternoons ago, I received a phone call from Derech HaYayin, a specialist wine store in Modiin Reut, that my new wine fridge had arrived. (See my last review).

I went to pick the wine fridge up. As I entered the store I noticed that they were unpacking some new whiskies from their suppliers. One of the boxes caught my eye. Boxes of Arran!

The guys in the store informed me that two new Arrans had just arrived in the country and that the American Bourbon Reserve bottling was on an introductory special offer of 180 Shekels. I knew then that this would be the subject of my next Whisky Review.

UPDATE: I checked with the store and was informed that these new Arran bottlings have actually been available since 2020 but only in limited quantities. (Thanks to M.H. for pointing this out to me).

So, without further ado, let’s retry this Arran which I last tasted in Scotland, hot off the ship from Scotland.

Isle of Arran American Barrel Reserve 43%. 70cl. Natural Colour.

The first thing I noticed (which I wouldn’t have noticed with the miniature bottle), was the obvious omission of the line of text on every Arran bottling up until now, that is “Non Chill-filtered”. The abv percentage of 43% (as opposed to 46% or higher), confirmed that this is obviously chill filtered. Baruch Hashem, Arran hasn’t added Caramel colouring! The chill filtering is an obvious indication that this release is aimed at the budget market (or perhaps the cocktail bar?).

So, we are not exactly off to a good start!

Packaging and Art Work

Those who are regular readers will know that I have been criticising quite a few distilleries recently for what I think is becoming an unfortunate trend within the Scottish Whisky Industry, that is, having a really distinctive and successful brand and substituting it for a totally generic look. I simply cannot understand the marketing logic here, yet it seems to have become fashionable now in 2021.

"Water cascades down the hillside..."

Arran (Lochranza), on the other hand, switched to a new branding back in late 2019, from a really old fashion ubiquitous look, to something which really stands out and has some unique and really cool features.

To….

OK, so the Recycled Brown paper style canister and label has been done before by Deanston distillery, but it still looks great. The new shaped bottle reminds me of an old fashioned milk bottle or a university chemical research laboratory bottle, (in particular the large lip). An association that perhaps does not seem a positive thing, but somehow it works!

The cork stopper continues the same styling with a simple unvarnished raw wood top to the cork, giving it a fresh and clean look. Because the bottle lip is so wide with no actual bottle neck to speak of, and the glass totally translucent, that if you lift up the bottle and view it from below, you get an unusual and fascinating view of the cork.

I like the little touches such as an outline of the island on the side of the canister and label. The outline is repeated five times, gradually fading away, making it look like ripples on the water. Inside the outline is a distillery still and two eagles.

One of the most unique features of any whisky bottle I have seen (and I cannot understand why it isn’t employed in more products), is a line of Braille for the Blind.

As you have already gathered, I really like the new packaging. It ticks every box as to what a Single Malt Whisky package ought to be. It does not look like any other Whisky on the market, stands out on the shelf, is clean, fresh with a minimalist design, with no kitschy pictures.

I am however, continually irritated by the fact that the Israeli importer thinks it’s a good idea to glue a really badly printed import label over the original back label. It’s so crude and denies us the opportunity to read the back label, designed especially for the expression.

It isn’t like something I saw in the supermarket recently. A cake mix packet where they list the ingredients of items you need, besides the contents of the packet. The importer had stuck a Hebrew label over the original English text. The difference is that the Hebrew was an exact translation of the original English so, if you read Hebrew then you aren’t missing out on anything. Here, however, with this whisky label, it is different! It is just the Import label which is covering up the original text so that we cannot read it!

I do have one criticism though and that’s the awful marketing shpiel written on the canister about “The clear water cascades down the hillside, through six unassuming waterfalls, each one purifying the water….”

Do me a lemon!

Isle of Arran American Barrel Reserve 43%. 70cl. Natural Colour (but Chill Filtered)

Price: 180 Shekels

Maturation: Exclusively American Ex-Bourbon Barrels

Kashrus Certification: None (but there ought to be!)

Thursday night, I was preparing for the whole family who were coming for Shabbos, (excluding my parents who are stuck in the UK, sob sob), but including my three married kids, three grandkids and my yeshiva bocher son.

I had just prepared my very popular Home-Made Chatzililim BeTaam Kaved (Aubergine Mock Liver Salad), and my American Waldorf Tuna salad*, laid the Shabbos table for the next day and boiled the Shabbos urn.

Whilst my dear wife was preparing the dough to bake Challos, I sat down to open this bottle and make some tasting notes for this Arran Single Malt. This morning (Sunday morning), I went to write these notes up and save them to my Google Drive, only to see that I had already made tasting notes of this whisky when we were in Campbeltown back in November 2019. (See those tasting notes above).

I had completely forgotten about this. So, looking through the list of tasting notes I had made with my father, well over a year ago, I have to admit (big grin), to being rather impressed by the similarities.

Tasting Notes at home July 2021

I removed the plastic protection rapper from the cork and carefully attempted to twist the cork off. However, before I could pull it off totally, to my surprise, the pressure in the bottle must have been so great that the cork popped off on its own like a bottle of champagne and the air gap at the top of the bottle spontaneously filled with a kind of Scotch Mist. 

Appearance

I poured some of this, (mist and all) into a Glencairn glass and swirled it around a few times. The natural bright “Sun shining through a Window” straw colour was very pleasing to the eye.

First Impressions

Very approachable even without water. (I suppose that’s the whole point of this bottling and their target audience, so they succeed here!)

I did add a touch of water. You don’t have to but I found that it did slightly improve the experience by revealing some more of those fruity aromas and flavours.

Nevertheless, you do get the impression that this is an excellent Integrity style whisky.

It is clean, fresh and zesty.

Very well-mannered Single Malt but without that “Over-Engineered” - “too much polish” taste that so many other budget single malts have, such as Cardhu, Auchentoshan or Glenfiddich, to name just a view. (Believe me, the list is very long).

In contrast, from the aroma, this Arran is closely connected with its raw ingredients in a similar way to the Glencadam 10.

Aroma

Alcoholic fresh lemon tropical sherbet-y.

Lemon grass

Grated Lemon rind.

Soft Caramel Milky Fudge

Soft Honey-Dew Melon with a touch of Green Banana

Tasting

Refreshing, Lemon and slightly tropical sherbet-y mouthful.

Surprising for a Chill-Filtered single malt, this still has a reasonable body thickness and even some light oiliness.

Tangy citrusy tanginess. The fresh sweet Lemon drink flavour is very dominant.

After some seconds you become aware of the non-fruity flavours.

Mild Toffee Cream Biscuits.

Apple Crisps. (Dried apples with a powdery mouthfeel. The ones that went from an OU hechsher to a Chatam Sofer Petach Tikva hechsher….I’m sure there’s a story here but not for this blog).

Dried Pineapple and just ripe Banana on the delicious finish.

This whisky is VERY easy drinking, what my Mum would call “dangerously mooreish”.

One mustn’t forget that this is still 43% alcohol Whisky! It isn’t a soft drink!

Conclusion

It comes (at least for now) at a budget price and is seriously tasty stuff.

I thought I’d end up criticising this whisky and telling you that there have been too many corners cut and it simply does not cut the mustard. After all, here is a distillery with a reputation for producing integrity Single Malts. The very best casks, natural colour, Non Chill filtration and high abv, and that had the chutzpa to produce an entry-level, chill-filtered and near minimum abv bottling for the entry and budget market.

But I was wrong! The thing is, that I love it!

At just 180 Shekels, it has managed to supplant my top recommended budget entry-level Single Malts for under 190 Shekels, those being Glen Moray Classic, Glen Moray Peated, Glen Moray 12, Glenmorangie Original 10, Bowmore No.1, Auchentoshan American Oak and the Deanston Virgin Oak.

(I have made the cut off point at 190 Shekels as there are a whole group of Single Malts that permanently hover around the 200-220 Shekel mark, sometimes dipping just under that point but often marked up just over. These include the Laphroaig 10, Old Pulteney 12, Deanston 12 and Loch Lomond 12).

The Arran American Barrel Reserve, despite it being a No-Age-Statement and bottled at 43% abv, has the complexity, attention grabbing and enjoyment ranking matching Single Malts in the 300 Shekel price range.

and finally...

A Rant against NAS - Non Age Statement Single Malts

I’m not a luddite, but I do think that failing to put an age statement on a bottle of Single Malt Whisky should be made illegal.

Ok, I can understand why they have chosen to bottle at 43% in order to water it down so that it's good to go straight from the bottle, but it’s a shame that they don’t have the confidence to put an age statement on the label, even if it’s 5/6/7/8 Years old. It sends a message to potential buyers that yes, the whisky is young, but we are relying on the quality of the casks and skill of the Master Blender to give you a quality product. This American Barrel Reserve proves the point.

Perhaps the reason is that they are overly concerned with a tiny minority (in my estimation) who might be put off by a young age statement if they see one on the label, but somehow won’t bother thinking about the probable young age of the whisky if it is given a fancy name and the age of the youngest whisky in the vatting left unstated. On the other hand, I just wonder how many punters there are out there, who are equally unreasonable and refuse to buy any Single Malt without an age statement?

Those who refuse on principle to buy NAS bottlings, argue that the system is open to abuse whereby the company is allowed, for example, to call a new release (that initially has an Age statement), by a fancy shmancy name and so charge a premium price. Once the expression has gained a reputation, then, without notice, remove the age statement (and hope not many people notice), and switch to using younger whisky, so reducing their costs and the quality (or start using older less active casks and hide the fact by adding E150a colouring to make it look as if its more matured than it is), but keep the fancy name and identical label. 

Many would describe this as deceptive. Others however, would describe this as an exercise in clever business practices?

“You say Tomaetoe and I say Tomahtoe”?

* For those interested in the recipe for my American Waldorf Tuna salad

You will need:

One Large Mixing Bowl

8 Cans of Tuna in Brine. (Drain the water)

6 Spring Onions, finely chopped.

2 large Green Apples, chopped.

1 Small tin of Pineapple chunks (Natural juice, No Sugar Added), chopped.

1 Tablespoon of the juice from the Pineapple tin.

2 Tablespoons of Dried Onion flakes.

4 Tablespoons of Whole Walnuts, chopped.

2 Sticks of Celery, chopped.

1 teaspoon of “Lee and Perrins” Worchester Sauce (or equivalent).

Black pepper / Salt to taste.

4 heap Tablespoons of Light Mayonnaise.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate until needed.