Continuing my series on cask finishes, today I shift to red wine casks. For today’s review, I’ll taste the Arran Amarone Cask Finish, an annual special release from Lochranza Distillery. As with my previous Murray McDavid Inchgower Madeira cask finish review, I am also taking the opportunity to provide a brief introductory infographic on Amarone to those who might be interested learning some basic details about this wine and what flavours it can bring to whisky.
TL:DR: A good example of wine and spirit integrating to provide a cohesive drinking experience
Score*: 6.5, good… and very close to being very good.
I have spoken about Arran at length before. It probably is the most represented distillery on this blog (which is not saying much, frankly). I am stating this to explain why you won’t find details about the distillery in this article. If you are interested in some info on the distillery my Arran 10 review as well as the post on the Distillery tasting have some very high-level info on the history and what to expect at the distillery.
The Arran Cask Finish Series
Instead, today, I am focusing on the Cask Finish series. Arran started offering cask cinished whisky pretty much from the start although as special releases originally. To the best of my knowledge, the proper Cask Finish range was officially launched in 2010. There are three regular, yearly releases: Port, Sauternes and Amarone Cask Finish respectively. Occasionally Arran has released other cask finishes like Madeira and Marsala as part of this range, but more as a one off.
All the Cask Finish Whiskies are relased at 50%. We are not provided with a lot of detail on the ageing, as you will see below in the specs of the Arran Amarone Cask Finish review. Nonetheless, the rumour mill information on these releases is pretty consistent. We can assume that the base spirit is aged in ex-Bourbon casks (at least partially refill) for 7-8 years and then finished in the relevant cask type for anything between 9-24 months.
I had a chance to try samples of all three in the past and decided to review the Amarone as it was the one which showed the best integration between spirit character and cask. The Sauternes was a close second, while the Port left me unexcited. But before I get to the review of the Arran Amarone Cask Finish, let me touch on…
The problem with Cask Finishes: Transparency pt.1
There are plenty of whisky drinkers out there who love cask finishes. Likewise, many prefer the more traditional ex-Bourbon or Ex-Sherry ageing or the purists who swear by refill casks only. Wine cask finish is especially divisive. Blanket statements, in general, but even more so when it comes to cask finishes, are a bit lazy. My limited experience has taught me that certain distillate characters work better than others with specific cask types. And some simply do not. It is about hitting that magic combination.
The ability of the distillery manager counts a lot, too. But in general, the quality of the cask is key. And, besides the obvious cask management aspect, i.e. making sure a cask is not going sour, sourcing is key. And this is one of my main gripes with finish, especially wine finishes. The transparency is abysmal and the information regarding the source of the casks is usually absent, or vague. Very few producers mentioned the source and wine previously held in those casks.
Why is it a problem? Because a certain wine name, take Amarone, does not represent an inherent validation of quality or style. There are great Amarone producers, many good ones, but also some pretty poor examples, often those producing bulk, meaning they are also the ones with larger cask stocks available. The same goes for Rioja, Bordeaux and so on. I’d love to know if the casks used come from a good or great winemaker rather than someone going for the minimal quality.
Some producers, often high-end ones, specifically ask not to have their names mentioned on a bottle, which is one challange. But even allowing for that, this is information rarely disclosed. Often, the only way to get that information is to visit a distillery and look at the casks they use, which often carry the winery name. I am sure distilleries, especially in this day and age, could do better than that.
About Amarone
Before getting to the review of the Arran Amarone Cask Finish, I am adding an introductory infographic which explains the key facts about Amarone. If you want to skip straight to the review, click here.
And now let’s finally drink some whisky.
Arran Amarone Cask Finish
Specs
Price paid: €54.95
Bottled date: 5/3/2024
ABV: 50%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Arran states that this one is aged in “traditional oak casks” and then finished in Amarone wine casks – no information on the duration of the finish is given.
Tasting Notes
Colour: the wine influence is very noticeable in the hue of this whisky, pinkish orange, almost like a pale rosé wine.
Nose: This is a sweet, fruity, spicy, slightly floral whisky. At the same time quite delicate. The mix of Arran spirit character and wine cask aromas works very well. The rich tropical fruit, so familiar from Arran 10, is enriched by a layer of cherries and figs. There is a syrupy sweetness, like a fruit coulis, maybe peach or melon. The spices are rich, pepper, nutmeg, ginger and a little cinnamon. In the background, there is a light rose petal note, some milk chocolate and a refreshing citrus note, lime maybe.
Taste and finish: Quite rich in mouthfeel. There is a little youthfulness -not a lot, but noticeable. There are rich malt-driven notes, then fruit -more leaning towards the wine influence – with cherries and brambles, some yellow fruit. Then spices: mainly ginger and nutmeg and just a hint of aniseed I often get in red wine cask finished malts.
The finish is fruity and sweet but with a touch of drying tannins from the cask.
Score*: 6.5, good… and very close to being very good.
I get why some drinkers dislike wine cask finishes. I have sampled examples where the notes of the cask either clash or overpower the notes from the “pure” whisky. But when the two marry together effectively, the result can be very good and extremely enjoyable. The Arran Amarone Cask finish in this review gets very close to that.
From an aromatic point of view, the Arran spirit character and the Amarone notes work very well together. The sum of the two is very much enhanced. What works less is the palate that does not fully keep up with a very captivating nose, and some slightly hot notes betraying perhaps a slightly younger age than expected (from the rumours, at least). And even with all that, it is a fun whisky, independent of my score.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Arran Amarone Cask Finish I enjoyed:
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