Isle of Arran “Machrie Moor” 1st Edition (46%, OB, 9,000 Bts., 2010)

“On the west coast of the Isle of Arran lies a windswept and mystical peat bog called Machrie Moor.  Bronze Age stone circles and standing stones are strewn across its barren, undulating terrain.  One of the stone circles is known as Fingal’s Cauldron Seat, where sits a stone with a carved hole.  The legendary warrior giant Fingal is said to have tethered his favourite dog Bran to this stone.  This peated expression of the Arran Single Malt perfectly captures the rugged beauty and lore of this landscape. Unleash the legend that is Machrie Moor.”

Machrie Moor Specifications;  Peated Arran distilled every year since 2004. Malted barley peated to a level of 14ppm. Machrie Moor First Release – Limited Edition of 9,000 bottles worldwide. Classic Arran with a peaty punch. Bottled at 46%. Non chill-filtered and No artificial colouring.

The nose starts with honeyed malt and then some peat smoke along with some good vibrancy that is quite attractive. Surprisingly sweet and a delightful interplay between the two however with time in the glass some fruity notes emerge with the peat smoke taking on some definition that is certainly not Islay in style, perhaps leaning a little towards a peated Speysider. There is also some youth in the foreground along with some gentle orange notes (perhaps more Clementine than orange). It all works very well. The taste is gentle at first but this quickly is swept aside by some peat and malt, the two are quite aggressive together. Very, very peppery along with some later moments of oak spice and dark unsweetened chocolate. The peat is an equal partner in this project and it does not dominate. The finish is Arran biscuity malt followed by the peat, some fruit and the pepper. The finish is very long and then the characteristic Arran biscuity notes re-emerge to take over the finish.

Not a hugely peated single malt and some what restrained however there is loads of flavour here, another good dram from Isle of Arran distillery. It’s good.

£37.99

Score 85 points