The Arran makes some great non-peated whisky. It’s subtle, nuanced, silken and often sublime – basically the polar opposite of this Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength. This is The Arran’s yearly peated release which they distill at the end of every season before they shut the place down and give it a thorough cleaning. Which is kind of like throwing a kegger the night before doing a deep clean on your house.
In The Arran’s Words: Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength
“Machrie Moor – The Peated Arran Malt – has hints of vanilla, fresh pineapple and citrus, with an extra punch of peat smokiness on the finish. The cask strength edition has distinct influence of peat and notes of fresh pineapple and a caramelised bourbon cask vanilla finish.”
Now, let’s put the whisky in the glass and give it a whirl in the Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength review below.
Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength Info
Region: Islands, Scotland
Distiller: The Arran
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS
ABV: 58.2%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Edition: 2
Price: $80
Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength Review
EYE
Honey
NOSE
Nutmeg, smoke, Twizzlers, malty sweetness, almonds, vanilla, spice, touch saline and a light bit of fruit and new canvas. It’s a bit odd, but wholly pleasant.
PALATE
Fruit, smoke, spice, vanilla, malt, graham and light bits of citrus peel and copper. The palate doesn’t deliver the same complexities as the aroma, but it remains a nice crisp malt.
FINISH
Long and sweetly malty with accents of peat, vanilla, honey and spice.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Well balanced, full round body and a rich oily feel.
OVERALL
The Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength is a heavily peated cask strength monster of a whisky, but being an Arran it manages to retain a sweet fruity core for that peat to balance against. It walks that delicate line between peat explosion and fruit bomb and is truly a tasty whisky.
The addition of water brings up more honey, malt and even more fruit notes, but doesn’t do much to increase the depth. It all seems to come across fairly topical and it doesn’t take too much water to neuter it completely. So if you pick up a bottle of Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength go easy with the water. I only needs a bit to open it up, but even without it’s a lovely crisp, sweet and peaty malt.
SCORE: 89/100 (B+)
