The second edition of Arran's Orkney Bere Barley has become a cask strength version. Arran once again partnered with the University of the Highlands and Islands Orkney College to make a whisky from this ancient and highly laborious barley variety. Bere barley was brought to Scotland by the Vikings more than a thousand years ago. It is a grain that is notoriously difficult to grow and process for distillation. However, it gives unique characteristics to the whisky, the main reason for this experiment. After distillation in 2004, the whisky matured for 10 years in bourbon barrels. In 2014, only 4890 bottles with a cask strength of 56.2% were bottled.