Taste: Arran 15 Year Old Vom Fass

Vom Fass? I should explain, as this name will be unknown to most whisky enthusiasts or anyone that doesn't frequent shopping centres. This is a company that specialises in personalised gifts in the form of bottling your own and then labelling it for you. They are found in shopping malls and offer a range of spirits, oils and vinegars. During my visit they had on offer rum, an American bourbon, Irish whiskies and a handful of Scottish whiskies including a Bruichladdich. These selections may vary on where you are shopping. 

Sadly the Arran 3 year old was no more so I settled on this 15 year old offering. Normally I'd include some photographs of the layout, presentation and displays of the company but thanks to the over eager security in the Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow, if you try to take a photograph of a shop, security will pull you up for questioning. I could pose in front of each display to remove this annoyance but that defeats the purpose. Madness but I suppose it gives someone a job. 

Bottle sizes start at 100ml and include some novelty shapes. I purchased a couple of 100ml bottles which cost £1.00 each on top of the whisky itself. If things didn't work out then at least I'd have a handful of decent sample bottles for future tastings. This Arran was £8.00 per 100ml so no damage done to my wallet really for the experience. The only word of caution is that this is advertised as a 15 year old yet the cash register receipt says 14 years. As far as I'm concerned the casks on display are not the originals, being smaller versions of a larger cask with its contents broken down into smaller portions. Therefore at this stage the clock stops. Still, time for the tasting notes.

Info

Distillery: Arran
Age: 15 years

Distilled: unknown

Bottled: unknown
Strength: 43%

Cask: Not stated but I'd say a Bourbon Hogshead

Colour: a dull, hazy, Chardonnay

Nose: Peach, nutmeg, lemon, marzipan and a buttery touch

Mouth: Explosion of initially of citrus and orange peel, followed by apricot and a grassy note

Verdict: This is a very easy sipping dram, only let down by the very short finish. Taking it below 43% would have been detrimental and arguably 46% would have been the ideal bottling strength. It represents a good warm up act to the main events if you settling down for an evening of whisky. I'll be reviewing a Vom Fass Auchentoshan later this month,