(한국어 시음기 밑에 있어요!)
The Barrel Reserve is one of the newer core releases from the Lochranza distillery on Arran. Introduced with the radical redesign of the Arran brand and bottles, it finds its niche as a budget single malt and as a result, drops the ABV to a more mass-market level of 43%, and with that also goes the non chill-filtered statement, though Arran does say that it is "lightly-filtered" as opposed to getting the full-on treatment that other Scotch and Japanese mass-market whiskies get. It's also aged on bourbon barrels.
Vitals:
ABV: 43%
Colour: Straw
Chill-filtered: Yes
Nose: Heavy on the banana notes, which intermingle with buttery cake, giving off an aroma of banana bread. As the cake notes disperse, salt and an extremely mild peat smoke can be sensed, before being overpowered by oranges and wood. Interestingly, these notes then evolve into a herbal licorice and floral soap before switching gear into sweet pineapples and apricots with a touch of caramel sauce hiding in the background 19/25
Palate: Black pepper and oak create a spicy initial sip, but behind the spice lies tropical pineapples with a touch of orange peel. As the barrel spice fades, the orange note becomes far more prominent and malted barley, creamy butter and flaked almonds appear. 16.5/25
Finish: Creamy and sweet, with caramel and butter. Surprisingly long despite it's simplicity. 15/25
Value*: Slightly cheaper than the 10 yr in Korea, but not by much. N/A
Conclusion:
A decent budget offering from Arran. It's nowhere near as complex as its siblings, but it does bring to the table lots of fruity notes, including that quintessentially Arran note of salty pineapple. I'm thinking that this would be a really pleasant whisky to highball on a hot summer day.
Basic Rating: 67.3%
Price Adjusted Rating*: 64.5%
Daily Drinker: Sure.
Possible pairing: Soda water and Ice. I think this would do really well in a highball.
Where to find in Korea: Assabeer. Not a lot of places stock this one.
TLDR Version:
N: Bananas, banana bread and chiffon cake -> salt, mild smoke, oranges and wood -> licorice, soap, pineapple and apricots with hints of caramel in the background
P: black pepper with oak and pineapple, and a hint of orange peel -> malted barley, more oranges, almonds and butter almonds
F: sweet sugary finish, with caramel and butter. long.
V: Not drastically cheaper than the 10 yr.
C: Light and fruity with tropical notes, but not very complex.
한국어 시음평:
향: 바나나, 바나나 파운드케이크 → 소금, 스모크 향, 오렌지 → 감초, 비누, 파인애플, 살구 (캬라멜 향이 은은하게 깔려있습니다)
맛: 후추, 오크, 파인애플, 오렌지 필 → 맥아보리, 오렌지, 아몬드
끝맛: 달콤한 캬라멜, 버터. 여운이 깁니다.
결론: 가볍고 과일 향이 감도는 좋은 위스키입니다. 특히 열대과일 향이 느껴지네요. 다만 복합적인 맛이 느껴지진 않네요.
Buy / Mooch / Pass: Mooch
Review by Glasgowhisky
2020/08/01
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