Chapter 13
My first trip to Arran
What happens when you want to go to Arran but the ferry from Ardrossan has broken down? You don’t care, you drive to Campbeltown, spend a day there, and take the ferry from Claonaig instead. A bit of a detour (which I’ll describe in another chapter as I’ve already talked about Campbeltown in Chapter 6) but we couldn’t miss this magical Isle.
As for my other more travel related stories, this is of course about whisky, but not only…so let’s start.
An amazing first station
The ferry from Claonaig to Lochranza is a quick 30 min journey and to get there from Campbeltown a good 40 min drive. Now like back then you couldn’t pre-book a specific journey like on other CalMac ferries, so we had an early start and set off to take the earliest ferry. This resulted in one, clear, loud result: hunger!
And like if the Isle knew our needs, we found this nice little shed right next to the ferry ‘terminal’: The Sandwich Station…quite a station, indeed!
They make some amazing sandwiches using mainly local produce from Arran. The result is rather remarkable. We had a bore sandwich, a mackerel one and a five spice roast pork on sourdough bread and with local green leaves. Nice, moist and balanced sandwiches to put a smile on our ugly faces and give us some energy for the day ahead.
Around the Isle
We started our tour going around the west coast. Peace and vibrant natural presence all the way through. A quick stop at Machrie Moor standing stones to pay homage to Arran’s now discontinued version. Every time I see these ancient standing stones I ask myself…”how possible?”. I’m sure some of our keenest readers can shed some light on the topic.
The village of Blackwaterfoot, apart from offering a necessary public toilet, also revealed Blackwater Bakehouse. If you like baking and bakeries, definitely worth the stop.
Nature continued to be the absolute protagonist with great views and all sorts of wildlife accompanying our slow and steady drive south…No we were not going to the naturist beach…we were going to Lagg!
Lagg distillery
What a place these guys picked to open a distillery. Stunning views down to the Irish sea with Ailsa Craig far away on the horizon.
I’m not an architect, but the green zigzagging roof created that nice organic blending effect with the surroundings which is symptomatic of the deep bond between the distillery and the Isle.
Inside the doors, a very modern and welcoming visitor’s centre with a shop, a canteen and a whisky bar (of course) upstairs. They hadn’t launched their inaugural releases yet back then (yes, I’ve come back more recently and got one each of course). We tried some new make and it was very promising (as confirmed in Chapter 11). Can’t wait to revisit in the future for a tour and tasting…
Local produce
Now we were travelling back north towards Lochranza getting ready for the great show. Along the way we stopped by to try (and buy) many of the great local products of this outstanding Isle.
The Taste of Arran shop in Brodick was one of those, followed by Brodick Brasserie and an amazing Cheese shop just outside of Brodick. If you’re ever around, try their local Brie, Camembert and Blue Cheese.
Isle of Arran brewery was also very worthy of the stop with its refreshing choice of local beers and ciders.
And then…it was time…we finally got there…
Lochranza Distillery (Arran Whisky) and Tasting
Protected by the hills at the back, just few yards from Lochranza bay, the distillery was there waiting for us. It was not a busy period back then, and we took all the time to admire every detail of it from the outside. Cereal notes in the air.
A first dangerous walk through the shop, made our wallets shiver. We knew it: was going to be hard to resist.
In the tasting room, our generous host started a quick warm-up. We tried so many Arran iterations that day. I already knew obviously the 10, quarter cask and sherry cask. Within a few minutes we tried the Amarone cask finish, Sauternes cask finish, Port cask finish, an harmony edition and an old Arran 18 bottling. I mean…that’s quite a welcoming greeting…we couldn’t stop loving them.
That would have been good enough but no…4 absolute bangers were laying ahead.
We started with a very high bar. It’s like if you’re Coventry City and you start the new season by playing in champions league against Barcelona…away. A 16 year old premium “mistery” cask, one out of 326 bottles, poured at a generous 58.6%. If you’re out there, and you find one of this at a price reasonable for you, get it, open it, celebrate it. We were speechless. Complexity and richness. This is not a tasting article otherwise this would get the badge (maybe – not sure).
Keeping a very high standard, but perhaps with a slightly less complex yet very accessible pedigree, a 10 years old bourbon barrel private cask did put its elbows out with a lot of toffee, cereal and jasmine notes. We did enjoy it quite a lot as well, but then…humans move away…
A 2022 Arranach hand bottled distillery exclusive dram, matured in D’issan Margaux casks (a gran cru French wine) and poured at 58% abv. This went straight away in my top 5 of all times. Complex, rich, creamy, thick, almost crunchy! Layers and layers of complexity, waxyness, woodiness, maltyness…Arranachness. We didn’t finish it all on the day but took a driver’s dram away with us, to appreciate it over time.
Last, but not least, a 46% 25 years old “core range” dram. Another very good dram. Perhaps a bit outshone by its cask strength companions. Given the price and my poorness, not a product for me today to be honest with you.
Accidents
Our ferry was just few minutes away, we had to go. We were happy after spending the whole day on this fantastic Isle, with whisky, organic products, nature…
We were so grateful to Arran whisky we all bought 3 bottles each. I had a Sauterness (my favourite) and Arranach (only sold in 20 cl bottles) and an Amarone finish. Same Peppino and Leo to be honest I don’t remember. I also bought a really cool lead plaque from the Explorers series (see Leo’s Chapter 4) and then we jumped in the car.
Was it over? Of course not.
This is when Peppino announced he needed a wee. He went back inside for a wee sec and came down outside with a little “accident” in his hands. He couldn’t resist. He bought himself a Port finish bottle too. Well done Peppino!
Drams
and more...
Today's drams
- Arran Sauternes Cask Finish – 50%
- Arran Amarone Cask Finish – 50%
- Arran Port Cask Finish – 50%
- Arran Mistery Cask 16 – 58.6%
- Arran Private Cask Bourbon Barrel 10 – 59.9%
- Arran Arranach D’issan Margaux – 58%
- Arran 25 – 46%
Sandwich Station
Great mouthwatering sandwiches using local products. As simple as that. Not stopping is a waste! Here’s their webpage.
Blackwater Bakehouse
Solid bakery. I loved the sourdough and their sweet choices. They’re on facebook for more info.
Arran Cheese Shop
I loved the local selection. Some of them didn’t make it to the ferry. Here’s their link.