Arran 2004 Orkney Bere Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Island - Arran

Brand: Arran 2004 Orkney Bere

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  8 Years

ABV: 46 %

Date: 07/01/2013

Colour: Pale Straw/Light Gold

Nose: Young, Playful, Malty and Extremely Fruity with Sweet Creamy Barley, Banana, Pineapple, Pear, Honey, Heather, Straw, Vanilla, Lemon, light Spices and hints of Aniseed, Butter and Mint. The Distillery and the Barley rule. Only very light Cask influences. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Palate: Unexpectedly, the Cask influence is much stronger now. It's still Fruity (Apple) but now I find lots of Spices like Pepper, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Also slightly Bitter Oak, Barley, Vanilla, Flowers, Toffee, Marzipan, light Licorice and a hint of Espresso.

Finish: Middle-Long, still Fruity and, again, surprisingly Spicy with Cereals, Toffee, Peach, Pineapple, Nut Shells, slightly Bitter Oak, Cinnamon and Pepper. 

With a bit of Water the Nose gets even more Cereals and Vanilla. On the Palate the Spices become too dominant in my opinion. Better sip it neat.  

Rating: 85

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: Arran is a very young distillery and only started selling Single Malts in 1995. It's located on the Isle of Arran, off the Scottish West Coast. This Limited Edition (5800 Bottles) vintage Arran was distilled in 2004, matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks and was bottled at "Cask Strength" in 2012. No Chill-Filtration and only Natural Colours. It was distilled using Bere Barley, a very old type of Grain, grown on Orkney and used for centuries to make Whisky on the island. The use of Bere for Whisky distilling almost disappeared in the 20th Century and it's a great that Arran and the Orkney College brought back a bit of history. I hope it will not be a one time event! The 2004 will be difficult to get but it would sell at around 75 US Dollars if you can find it.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: It's been a while since I nosed a Single Malt that was that Fruity. It is really remarkable. Apparently the Bere and the Arran Distillery Character go very well together. On the Palate and in the Finish however this seems to be an altogether different kind of Whisky. The Fruit is still there of course but lots of Spices leave their marks as well. Personally I would have loved to find a bit more balance between Fruit and Spices on the Palate. But that is a minor flaw of an otherwise very interesting Whisky. Try it out if you can find it!

Jan van den Ende                                                          January 2014