Arran Machrie Moor First Edition (Peated)

Arran not only experimented with loads of wine finishes, they also launched a peated whisky under the name Machrie Moor. This is the name of the peat bog on the west coast of the island, where stone circles and menhirs from the Bronze Age can be found. The dog on the label of this bottle is Brag, which was leached to one of these stones by the mighty warrior Fingal. Or so the legend has it. Anyway, this is an Arran with 14 ppm, non chill-filtered and not coloured.

The nose is rather closed. It starts slightly salty on smoked halibut, olive oil and a bit of smoke. Some dried grasses. You will need to look hard to find any fruit. Patience delivers some coconut and apples. And a touch of vanilla. But unfortunately, it does nothing for me, this nose.

It redeems itself somewhat on the palate. A lot of citrus, followed by apples, pears, vanilla, violets, nicely countered by olive oil and stockfish (you know, the dried fish that you can nibble on for hours). Towards the end a slight bitterness as if from grapefruit emerges, as does a salty tang.

The finish, medium in length, emphasizes the mild peat and the brine.

The nose was terrible, but on the palate and finish, this turned out to be a pleasant whisky. Big thanks to my buddy Imanuel from Holland, who presented me with this bottle.

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