The Belgian Owl 64 months Ex-Arran Cask Cask #1505081

The Belgian Owl distillery, also known as Distillerie de Pollin, was founded by Etienne Bouillon in 1997 at Goesnes in Wallonia and released its first commercial whisky in 2007 after the legally required three year minimum maturation. The distillery is one of the longest established craft producers in Belgium and uses 100% Belgian grown barley harvested from farms around the distillery, distilled in second hand stills originally from Caperdonich in Speyside. This particular release is matured in an ex Arran cask, meaning a cask that previously held Arran single malt at Lochranza before being shipped to Belgium for the Belgian Owl maturation.

Spirit was distilled at The Belgian Owl from 100% Belgian barley and matured 64 months in a single cask previously used for Arran single malt maturation at Lochranza. Cask reference 1505081 sits within the Belgian Owl working inventory. Bottled at 46% without chill filtration and without added colour.

Ex Arran cask maturation layers two distillery character signatures: the original Arran spirit residue absorbed into the cask wood during its earlier life at Lochranza, and the Belgian Owl new make character developed during the 64 month Belgian maturation. The cask wood as American oak from the original ex Bourbon fill carries vanillin and whisky lactones, supplemented by the residual Arran spirit absorbed into the wood. The combined effect produces a distinctive cross distillery profile that documents the working cask trading between European whisky producers.