These are review notes from my archive because I got pretty lazy about posting on Reddit for a while. Originally reviewed for Maltrunners.com group tasting notes during the week before it was published on August 10, 2023.

See the Maltrunners collective review for the entire group’s tasting notes and conclusions.

From the bottle owner:

Back again with another Taiwan purchase, this one an OB Arran single cask selected by and bottled for Heng Jiou, a favorite shop of mine. Tried a sample on a visit there and that persuaded me to get a bottle even though it was steep. Arran only started distilling in 1995, so this bottle was laid down in that first year. A bit of history.

Distillery: Arran

Bottler: Arran for Heng Jiou

Region/Style: Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky

ABV: 48.9% | CS Cask Strength

Age: 25 years. Distilled on November 15, 1995. Bottled on February 11, 2021.

Cask type: ex-Bourbon Hogshead #230. Yielded 291 bottles.

Price: $355 (with tax) for 700mL. $15.43 per oz.

Color: 0.4 ripe corn

Nose: Fruity: mandarins, kiwi, lemon zest, candied grapefruit. Floral and earthy like a greenhouse garden in bloom: perfume-like lilac, geranium, dryer sheets. Candied coconut. A hint of hand sanitizer.

Palate: Nicely viscous mouthfeel, not very hot. Sweet, fruity, and floral on a slightly delayed arrival. Fades quickly and loses character. Faint chemical note evolves when rolling it around on the tongue.

Finish: Warm, earthy, baking spices, heavy on cinnamon and clove. Slightly minty. Then turns suddenly toward a slightly charred soil, which lingers, bitter and drying, for too long. After a long time it develops a sensation of chewing on green leaves.

Conclusion: This has a great nose with some nice fruity/floral/earthy notes, but the palate and finish seriously let me down: it starts out pretty good if a bit thin, a little off-bitter, just kind of doesn’t live up to the nose. Weird off-notes pop out here and there. Jarring changes in profile from nose to palate to finish. The nose is great but the experience is overall meh and at times unpleasant. I rate without factoring in price but I was aghast when I double checked what this cost. It’s at least interesting…

Buy a bottle? No; the value isn’t there. Way too pricy for anything less than incredible.

Final Score: 78/100 – Above average, but only just. Points for “interesting.”

(DemiTastes Review #77, Scotch #13)

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.