Vintage Spirits Archives - Wine Paradise

ARRAN Single Malt Scotch Whisky – “Angels’ Reserve” Aged 19 Years- Vintage 1997 (48.2%)

shop_admin — Sat, 23 May 2020 10:33:14 +0000

Arran Island

Situated on the south-west coast of Scotland, Arran is only 432 km2 and a resident population of 4,629. Often referred to as “Scotland in Miniature”, the island is divided into highland and lowland areas and has been described as a “geologist’s paradise”.
The main industry on the island is tourism, with outdoor activities. The Arran Coastal Way was designated as one of Scotland’s Great Trails by Scottish Natural Heritage in June 2017.
The island is recognized as perfect for whisky production. The source –Loch na Davie –has been verified as amongst the purest in Scotland, a unique climate, Gulf Stream effect, can also contribute to rapid maturation.
In fact, the island has a rich history of distillation –first legal distillery on Arran in 1836. During the 19th century, there were more than 50 illicit stills on Arran but all disappeared.

Arran

Arran is one of Scotland’s newer distilling operations, but it has now been in existence for long enough to offer an 18-year-old core expression, though 10, 12 and 14-year-olds are also available, along with a number of cask finishes and regular limited releases.
Arran Distillers is owned by a group of private shareholders and the managing director is Euan Mitchell. As well as the distillery and associated warehousing on the Isle of Arran the company has its head office on a business park near Stirling, in Central Scotland.
The company also operates a second, newer distillery at Lagg, on the south side of the island.

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ARRAN Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Premium Single Bourbon Cask 1999 (55.1%)

shop_admin — Sat, 23 May 2020 09:48:58 +0000

Arran Island

Arran

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CLÉMENT Très Vieux Rhum Agricole AOC – 1976 Millesime (44%)

shop_admin — Thu, 21 May 2020 11:08:26 +0000

Martinique

Martinique, a French Caribbean island, is mainly producing “Rhum Agricole”, which is obtained by distilling of sugar cane juice. This kind of rum is more aromatic. To produce 10 litres of rum roughly 100 kg of sugar cane needs to be processed.
In 1996, the Martinican Rhum Agricole obtained an AOC recognition, “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée’’ and is the only one so far.

Like in Cognac or Armagnac, there are strict ageing conditions & appellations:
*“Rhum Blanc Agricole Martinique”: min. 8 weeks in steel tanks
*“Rhum Vieux Agricole”: min. 3 years in oak casks of mac 650L
*“Rhum Extra Vieux Agricole, XO”: min. 6 years in oak casks
All ageing & bottling must be done on the island.
No Additional Flavor & No Additional Sugar

Rhum Clément

Rhum Clément has been established in 1887 when Homère Clément, physician and mayor of Le François in Martinique, purchased a 43-hectare sugar plantation, Domaine de L’Acajou.
Inspired by the enjoyment of great brandies while studying in his early years in Paris, Homère mimicked the distillers of the great Armagnac’s of southwestern France to perfect his method of rhum production known today as Rhum Agricole.Nowadays, Rhum Clément has 8000 barrels patiently aged in their 5 historical cellars and is a leading producer of A.O.C. Martinique Rhum Agricole, exporting to 80 different countries.
Around 8% of the volume of each barrel is lost every year due to « evaporation » (or Angel share). The aging is also unique, known to go 2.5 times faster than in Europe or Kentucky due to the high temperature and humidity.

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