Arran 18 Years Old 1995 Cask #HL 10852 (Old Malt Cask)

Old Malt Cask is one of the most established single cask programmes in independent Scotch bottling. Founded by Douglas Laing in 1998 as the company's flagship line, the range was retained by Stewart Laing's new company Hunter Laing following the May 2013 amicable de merger of the original Douglas Laing & Co. The HL cask reference prefix on this bottling identifies it as a post 2013 release under Hunter Laing's ownership, drawing on the company's continuing stock of mature single casks. This release captures Arran spirit distilled in 1995, the distillery's first full year of legal post 1837 production.

Spirit was distilled at Lochranza in 1995 under the direction of original distillery manager Gordon Mitchell, with the cask filled during the months following the 29 June 1995 start of distillation. Maturation ran 18 years in a single refill hogshead, with Old Malt Cask's standard 50% bottling strength achieved through controlled reduction from the natural cask ABV. No chill filtration and no added colour.

Old Malt Cask's 50% specification preserves the lipid carried texture that lower strength bottlings require chill filtration to maintain, while reducing to a strength accessible to a broader range of drinkers than full cask strength. Refill hogshead maturation produces a gentler extraction profile than first fill wood, allowing the underlying Arran new make character to remain visible alongside the cask interaction. Spirit from the 1995 inaugural distillation year carries particular documentary value as direct evidence of the new make character Lochranza produced in its first year of operation.