Arran Amarone Cask Finish

Tony writes: This is a second edition of the very well received Arran Amarone finish which Jim Murray gave a score of 96 for in 2010. This is in our new Winter Warmers pack of big christmassy whiskies.

Amarone della Valpolicella is an Italian full bodied dry red wine and this is one of many types of finish that Arran have tried.

First thing to note is that the colour of this whisky is not on the scale above! It has taken a lot of colour from the cask and is almost pink! Good for novelty value.

Personally, there are few wine finishes I like. The Nectar D'or being the only exception I can currently think of. I bought a bottle of Arran Champagne finish a couple of years back and it was pretty average. So despite the JM score I did not have huge expectations.

Pat's notes: Nose: Sour redcurrants, fresh raspberry and meringue, light wood spice. Taste: Soft, sweet and spicy, rose wine, blackberries, Turkish delight, fresh red fruits, rose petals

Tony's thoughts:

I immediately liked this. Like many wine finishes there are clearly two notes in this, the whisky and the wine, but unlike many wine finishes it seems to work well here. The soft, fruity wine effect gives a sweet, rounded, full mouth feel without being cloying. The classic Arran flavour I call roughness (I mean that in a good way) then kicks in, just in time to stop the wine flavour dominating. Ends warmly. Very satisfying and definitely a winter warmer.

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