Arran The Devil's Punch Bowl Chapter 1

When this Arran hit the shelft some 9 months ago, it was with a lot of pooha. Great packaging, devilishly clever name (which refers, by the way, to Coire na Cinche, an ice age era cave close to the distillery) and an unprecendented vatting of 24 different casks from 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2006. No less than 6.660 bottles were produced, referring, obviously, to the number of the beast (albeith with an extra zero at the end, it would be somewhat silly to release only 666 bottles after all this trouble). For the anoraks among us (you know who you are) there is a list of the casks used: 1996 Sherry Butt #1525, 1996 Sherry Butt #1532, 1996 Sherry Butt #1554, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1799, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1802, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1803, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1807, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1808, 1996 Bourbon Barrel #1810, 1997 Sherry Butt #683, 1997 Sherry Butt #715, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #138, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #145, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #153, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #436, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #440, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #442, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #1010, 1998 Sherry Hogshead #1017, 2006 Bourbon Barrel peated #0001, 2006 Bourbon Barrel peated #0002, 2006 Bourbon Barrel peated #0003, 2006 Bourbon Barrel peated #0004 and finally 2006 Bourbon Barrel peated #0005. Phew!

The nose starts fresh on red apples in a frying pan, sprinkled with sugar and quite a dollop of butter. A salty touch leads to the peat to the nose, slowly but surely. Cherries and raisins in the mix and start the stew. A bit of mint, sweet spices and some oak. After a few minutes some chocolate, filled with apricot jam, kicks in. Outstanding. Or should I say, devlish?

Boy, very creamy and fruity on the palate. The baked apples have come out of the pan, drenched in honey. A bit of lemon zest on the side. In the mean time peat, menthol, cayenne pepper and nutmeg provide a warm and spicy background. Rich and round and very complex.

It leaves you with a long, sweet and spicy finish, in which the smoke and the oak get the final word.

This is no dram for little angels and fulfills the promise of the hype. A devilish seduction. Around 80 EUR when first released, but at some places you will need more already, unfortunately.

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