Arran 26 Years Old 1996 Cask #966 (House of McCallum)

House of McCallum is a Glasgow based independent bottler operating with The Vintage Collection range for long matured single cask releases. The bottler sources individual casks and presents them under the Vintage Collection visual identity with cask details and bottling specifics included on the label. This Arran 26 Year Old draws on cask 966 from the 1996 vintage, with the long ex Bourbon maturation period sitting at the upper end of typical commercial Arran release ages.

Spirit was distilled at Lochranza in 1996 and matured twenty six years in a single ex Bourbon American oak cask referenced 966. Bottled in 2022 at 47.8% without chill filtration and without added colour, with the 239 bottle outturn reflecting significant evaporative loss across the long maturation. Global market distribution allows the release wider international availability than the more typical single market exclusive arrangements.

Twenty six years of ex Bourbon maturation produces deep cask integration, with vanillin, whisky lactones, the toasted sugar fraction from American oak and the slowly developed oxidative compounds well integrated across the long maturation period. The flavour profile of fresh fruit and vanilla captures the surviving Arran spirit signature still visible alongside the developed cask layer at the twenty six year point. The 47.8% bottling reflects natural cask strength loss through evaporation rather than controlled reduction.