Arran Quarter Cask The Bothy is a single malt Scotch whisky from the Isle of Arran. The Lochranza distillery is the last still active on the island, and uses unique barley varieties. In Scotland, a "Bothy" is a kind of hut, a small shelter at the top of a hill, where walkers can take refuge.
This cuvée has been aged in two stages. The first 7 years were spent in first-fill ex-bourbon casks. Then the whisky was transferred to quarter casks, small 125-liter casks. This last stage gave the whisky the opportunity to maximize its interaction with the wood.
Bottling was carried out on a cask strength basis, without filtration or coloring.
Florian's tasting notes
The color is golden. The tears are regular, fine and slow.
A powerful nose! The quarter cask is only 125 liters, so in two years (7 years in first-fill Bourbon casks beforehand) the wood extraction is much greater than on a 180 or 220-liter cask or more. Lots of vanilla here, followed by white fruit, overwhelmingly cooked pear, baked apple and lemon. It's also pastry-like and buttery.
The main ingredient is also present: cereal, malty and herbaceous.
A voluminous entry on the palate, first sweet and unctuous, with vanilla, then powerful and peppery, before moving on to white fruits, with apple and pear again, and sweet lemon. There's plenty of oak, too.
The finish is relatively long, herbaceous, woody, bitter with grapefruit zest, and floral, then mineral.
"Arran renews itself, and it works. Powerful and aromatic, a few drops of water will be needed to tame it and give it the keys to sweetness..."
