Delicious dram from Arran distillery - Blog post by Steffen Lautrup

Post by Steffen Lautrup

Arran The distillery The distillery is located on the 'Isle of Arran' which is the island located east of Campeltown. It was founded in 1825, but after 1837 no one has heard of it. Which suggests that all the whiskey, known as 'The Arran Waters', must have been distilled illegally. Several stories have been told about smugglers on the island, which has been described as a 'smuggling stronghold'. It wasn't until 1995 that the distillery was officially and legally established and opened. This was by Harold Currie, former CEO of Chivas Brothers and then Campbell Distillers, who believed that whisky should come from the Isle of Arran. In 1995, much thought was given to the flavor style of Arran. Should it be like the lowlands since they were so close, or was it more smoky whisky like Islay, or a third, a mixture of Jura and Talisker? Harold was used to the sweet Speyside style and has taken much inspiration from it. Since 2009, Arran has been producing peat-flavored whisky from their Machrie Moor; named after a famous area on the southwest side of the island. It is said that the giant warrior Fingal, king of Caledonia, tied his dog, Bran, to one of the stones while he fired his kettle in the stone circle, which locals call 'Fingel's Kettle Place'. What's special about Arran is that all the processes - mashing, fermentation and distillation - take place in a single room. This gives you a good understanding of how whisky is produced.