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History In A Bottle Day 10: Twin Arran 1996 KWM Casks

Posted on December 10, 2022

This post is Bonus Content. It has information on one of the KWM Cask bottles that are featured on the back of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar box. You can find the blog post for the mini bottle for Day Ten of our Whisky Calendar here.

by Andrew

Oops… No, we haven’t bottled an 81-year-old Arran single cask, and neither has anyone else… the distillery only opened in 1995! Unfortunately, we were so pleased with the calendar design, that none of us caught the fact that one image was backwards until after the boxes had been printed. It wouldn’t truly have been on brand for KWM if every single detail was perfect now, would it!?

We have bottled more single casks of Arran than we have whisky from any other distillery. And there are a couple of good reasons why. Firstly, like us, they are a small independent producer, so you could say we are peas in a pod. Secondly, the quality of Arran has until recently, not been fully appreciated by the market, we used to think of them as our own private distillery for a while because we almost had them to ourselves in Alberta. The third reason is opportunity, Arran understood what we were looking for, and always sent us good casks. The biggest challenge was often limiting ourselves just to one.

We have bottled 14 asks of Arran to date, not including a couple we shared with a club or two over the years, and our 15th is on the way! Six of these casks were from 1996, the distillery’s first full year of production. In addition to 17, 19, 21 and 22-year-old casks, we were also lucky enough to be able to slap our logo on a pair of 18-year-old and a pair of 20-year-old casks too… We were spoiled, but as I’ve said a few times in these posts, they were different times.  Our 18-year-olds were sister casks, filled on the same day in December of 1996, into sherry hogsheads, and bottled on the same day in September of 2015. The crazy thing is, despite being the same age, and filled into what one can only presume was the same parcel of sherry seasoned cask, they were in effect quite different from each other. Cask 2003 was richer and more classically old-school sherry whisky in style, whereas cask 2017 was lighter, brighter and spicier. My theory is that the first was a European oak sherry cask, and the latter an American oak sherry cask… But we don’t know for sure!

Arran 1996 KWM Cask 2017

One of two Arran casks exclusively bottled for KWM, both 18-year-olds distilled in 1996. They were filled into cask and bottled on the same day, selected by and bottled exclusively for our shop. At the time of bottling, these casks were the two oldest bottlings ever from the distillery, which was only established in 1995. There are just 87 bottles filled at 53.2%, as we split the cask with a client. Matured in a Sherry Hogshead, this is the lighter fruitier one!

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: chocolate mouse with strawberries and a raspberry coulee, garnished with powdered sugar; a hint of Christmas cake, Fruit Source bars and candied nuts; honey and vanilla with candied citrus.

Palate: still chocolaty with lots of citrus, big orange notes: both candied and peels; more dried fruits, Fruit Source bars, candied and crushed nuts with a hint of perfume and grassy malt; still chocolaty with a tad of leather and tobacco.

Finish: long, dried and fruity with fading spices and lots of fruit.

Comment: the more delicate, fruity and candied of the two 18 year old Arran casks at KWM.

 

Arran 1996 KWM Cask 2003

One of two 18 year olds distilled in 1996 selected by and bottled exclusively for for KWM in 2015. At the time these bottlings were the two oldest single casks ever bottled by the distillery which was only established in 1995. Only 232 bottles filled at 53.7%. Matured in a sherry hogshead cask this is the big, richer, fruitier of the two whiskies.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: Eat More candy bars, dark bakers chocolate, candied orange and lemon peel; new saddle leather, hand rolled tobacco and developing fruits: mango and pineapple, raisins, dates and figs; there is a creamy base of honeycomb and white chocolate sauce.

Palate: more orange and especially chocolate: Eat More bars, bakers chocolate and leather and tobacco; the mango and pineapple are still there with classic Christmas cake and heap of dried dark fruits: raisins, dates and figs; dark spices develop; fennel seed, licorice root and candied ginger.

Finish: round, fruity and spicy with heaps of layers and depth; the finish is long and complex.

Comment: not hard to see from my tasting notes that this is my favourite of the two casks, it is the darker (flavour-wise) and more robustly sherried of the two. Both excellent casks, but this one has the edge, however slight.

Andrew Ferguson

Owner

Kensington Wine Market

This entry was posted in Whisky, KWM Whisky Calendar 2022, KWM Single Cask

 

 

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