The Devil’s Punchbowl Chapter II:
‘Angels & Devils’ – 53.1% abv.

You may have seen the recent news that Arran has released batch two of it’s Devil’s Punchbowl whisky, and if batch one’s release last year is anything to go by, then this will be a good one, well loved, and speedy to sell (and then hit the auctions).

So with those things in mind, let’s take a bit of a more in depth look at this dramming delight, made up of a batch of 27 casks of Arran malt whisky. Here’s my review…

Colour: White wine / light straw, a lovely natural colour.

Nose: Malty and light, fizzy / sherbety abv tingles on your nostrils; fruity, almost grapey, young wood with sweet sherry and bourbon notes along with whiffs of smoke. It’s a veritable punchbowl of smells!

Palate: Fairly hot with the fizz from the nose making an appearance on your tongue. It’s got an ashy peppery and spicy note with sweeter fruits and buttery creams coming along after. The mouthfeel is fairly rich and full, but also light and zingy, excellent to have no chill-filtration enabling the whisky to give you it’s full whack of flavours and oils.

Very warming on your chest with a long and flavourful finish. Some coffee notes creep in along side of slight damp woody tones with a mentholly kick as well.

Water takes away the some of heat but leaves the fizz, and allows even more sherry sweetness to come through, I’d defo recommend adding a drop as it makes the dram that wee bit smoother and more enjoyable.

A well constructed dram from a young and great independent distillery, we’ll see much more greatness coming from here over the years to come.

Very top of the 80’s in score, maybe even low 90s!

Seems to be sold out or not yet available in most stores, but is currently available on Arran’s website here. £72.99. Thanks to Arran for the sample.