Where to start? After the rather overwhelmingly long VIP line, I was finally in Paris Whisky Live and made my way to part of the VIP section. With all the crowds around the ‘popular’ Antipodes, I wandered my way to a curious one that combined whisky and beer.

Naturally, my eye quickly spotted Arran whiskies and I thought, why not warm up the palate with a friendly favourite?

Arran 10 year (05 Oct 2011 – 11 July 2022) 1st Fill Bourbon Cask 2011/1871 55.2% (LMdW Antipode bottle 163 of 224)

Knowing the Arran 10 year standard, I dove immediately into their 10-year Private Cask at cask strength – nothing like going from 0% to 55.2%!

It was exactly as expected! A lovely sunshine ex-bourbon dram with honey, fruity, cheerful cherries, berries, and more! Throw in some warm vanilla cream, a dash of slightly citrus notes closing with a sweet summery finish, What a lovely way to calibrate the palate for treats to come!

Arran 25 year (05 Aug 1996 – 11 Jul 2022) Sherry Hogshead 1996/892 51.5% (LMdW Antipode bottle 267 of 268)

I then moved on to the Arran 25 year…. This was not my 1st brush with their older whiskies, having been fortunate to try the 2020 25-year at the Lochranza distillery from the cask before it was bottled – a cask strength marvel that showcased just how carefully considered the approach was from the start. However what about this slightly later avatar?

• Colour – Deep ruby, almost garnet
• Nose – What a fabulous sherry bomb! Gorgeous rich character
• Palate – Starts soft and silky smooth, then morphs into dark berries, chocolate
• Finish – A long strong beautiful finish

What a wonderfully well-rounded mature dram. An absolute treasure!

This was no gentle start but instead going straight into the sublime! Clearly, I started my Paris Whisky Live 2022 in the right way!

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