Arran Illicit Stills Smuggler's Series
Volume 1
The Illicit Whisky Trade of the 18th and 19th centuries is the inspiration behind the Smugglers’ Series from Isle of Arran Distillery.
Each new release features packaging which recalls the hiding places used by smugglers, starting with a book which has a cut-out space to hold the bottle.
Inside the bottle, the whisky itself has a heavier peat influence, which the distiller said is similar to the whisky produced on the island in the past.
Euan Mitchell, managing direct of Isle of Arran Distillery, said: “We’re proud of the whisky-making heritage of the island.
With the Smugglers’ Series Vol. I ‘The Illicit Stills’ they pay homage to their forebears with an Arran dram of robust body and a heavier peat influence more redolent of the whisky produced on the island in days gone by. The presence of the heavily peated Arran is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of older Bourbon barrels. In the background the rich and fruity influence of Port Pipes has resulted in a fresh, full bodied and complex dram evocative of their independent character.
The Isle of Arran has played host to many distilleries, mostly illicit and the last legal distillery closed in 1835. What is surprising is that it took until 1995 for a still to run again as the Arran distillery at Lochranza came online. Financed mostly by Harold Currie who had retired from Chivas, the team also sought investment from 2000 investors who gave up £450 for a share of future whiskies. Many of whom turned up for the official opening, including a descendent of the last person to be killed on Arran for distilling illegally. Since the initial days, Arran distillery has prospered thanks to an array of cask types and special editions. The whisky, in time, has come of age and growing demand meant an expansion in 2017, with a new pair of stills. Things went even further in 2019 when a second distillery (Lagg) was established at the southern end of Arran.
