Arran 5 Years Old 2016 Cask #869 (A.D. Rattray)

A.D. Rattray was originally founded in 1868 as a Glasgow blender and bottler, and was relaunched in 2004 by the Morrison family of the Stuart Morrison whisky family lineage. The Morrisons hold a longstanding position in the Scotch industry through their ownership of Glen Garioch, Auchentoshan and Bowmore through the original Morrison Bowmore Distillers business. The Individual Cask Bottlings series is A.D. Rattray's flagship single cask range, presented at cask strength with no chill filtration and no added colour. Cask 869 from the 2016 vintage stock falls within this programme.

Spirit was distilled at Lochranza in 2016 and matured five years in a single cask before transfer to A.D. Rattray for bottling. The cask wood type follows the Individual Cask Bottlings template, typically a refill or first fill Bourbon hogshead. Bottled at cask strength without chill filtration and without added colour.

At five years old the spirit is young, with the Arran new make signature very forward and the cask interaction in early phase. The young Bourbon cask contributes initial vanillin extraction and the developing whisky lactone profile, while the underlying Arran citric and fresh fruit character drives the dominant flavour layer. Full cask strength bottling preserves the maximum lipid fraction and the textural fullness of the spirit before any reduction.