Arran

Arran is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery on the Isle of Arran, founded in 1995 by Harold Currie, a former Chivas director who set out to bring legal distilling back to the island after a gap of more than 150 years since the last licensed distillery there closed in 1837. The island once had dozens of small stills, most of them illicit, so Arran's arrival marked a genuine return to that history rather than a new invention. Ownership has changed since Currie stepped down in 2003, though the distillery remains independently run.

The whisky is matured mainly in American white oak and ex-bourbon casks, with releases ranging from younger, fruitier expressions through to considerably older bottlings, giving the range more breadth than many single distillery whiskies. It sits apart from the smokier, heavily peated styles found on islands such as Islay, leaning instead towards a lighter, fruit forward single malt character.