Arran 18 Years Old

Arran 18 Years Old was launched as a permanent core range expression in 2016, drawing on stock distilled during the distillery's first full year of legal production. Harold Currie had filled the inaugural casks in late 1995, and the rolling of those casks into commercial maturity over the following two decades is what allowed the 14, 17, 18 and eventually 21 Years Old expressions to exist as permanent range entries. This 2019 bottling represents the rebrand era inventory and sits in the global core range alongside the repositioned 10 Years Old, Bothy and Bodega.

The blend leans on first fill and refill sherry hogsheads marrying with ex Bourbon barrels filled with mid 1990s spirit, all stored in dunnage warehouses at the Lochranza site and at Springbank in Campbeltown during periods when on site capacity was insufficient. Bottled at 46% with no chill filtration and no colouring, the natural amber tone derives entirely from the cask wood. The 46% strength sits at the threshold above which haze formation from long chain fatty esters is suppressed without filtration, preserving the full lipid carried texture.

After 18 years the oxidative profile dominates: long contact with the seasoning residues in sherry oak develops eugenol, vanillin and the higher furanic compounds that produce the dried fig, dark chocolate and aged leather register. The ex Bourbon casks contribute the underlying vanilla and coconut lactone backbone that keeps the sherry from collapsing into pure raisin. The flavour profile reflects this balance: sherried, chocolate, dried fruit, fresh fruit, vanilla, malt extract.