Single Cask Nation Arran 13 Year Old Sherry Cask Scotch Review

By Kurt Maitland

Rating: B+

To quote their website “The Jewish Whisky Company [owners of Single Cask Nation] is faithfully dedicated to independently bottling the world’s finest and rarest single cask whiskies for the diverse members of Single Cask Nation.” The Jewish Whisky Company also host the Whisky Jewbilee, currently held in NYC, Chicago and Seattle and one of the best of the new whisky festivals in the States, but that is a story for another day.

Single Cask Nation has dedicated itself to independently bottling the best single casks it can for its members. Past and present casks run from Pedro Ximenez aged Dalmore and 6 Year Old Laphroaig to 2 Year Old Catoctin Creek and MGP bottings. Among them is the Arran 13 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Hogshead release, bottled at 55.9% abv.

For its part, Arran is a young distillery founded on said island in 1994. In the past, there were rumored to be about fifty distilleries on the island, but the majority of them were illegal opeerations.

For much of Arran’s history, many of their casks were stored in the warehouses of Springbank, but the distillery now has an onsite storage warehouse that allows them easier access to barrels. The distillery also offers a cask purchase program which allows individuals the chance to acquire their own cask of whisky, which are then stored on site at the distillery.

The Scotch
Color: Shades of new copper penny

Nose: Fruity with plums, apple cinnamon, and chocolate

Palate: Tasty, with the fruit and chocolate of the nose flashing us a smile before being overtaken by hints of melon (I get cantaloupe) and a long peppery finish. The texture is slick and spicy before drying a bit and becoming more astringent.

Water makes the chocolate the dominant flavor, heightens the sweetness and tamps down the spiciness a bit.

Finish: Long and spicy, almost as long as the core taste of this expression.

This is a just another reason why I love independent bottlers. This is essentially our only American independent bottler so they get my attention for that alone. The fact that they have excellent taste rewards my attention and makes additions to their portfolio drams that I need to taste.

The Price
This release is $105 for members of Single Cask Nation.