.the arran - machrie moor - batch #3

46% abv, €40, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: sweet, fresh, raisins, very light smoke, vanilla, red fruits, berries, cranberries, citrus, lemons, sweet oranges, tangerines, orange zest, golden delicious apples, mint, eucalyptus
Palate: sweet, vanilla, raisins, honey, flowers, heather, clover, tulips, hard herbs, thyme, rosemary, cloves, sage, spicy, citrus, lemons, oranges, light smoke, salty, fresh, light bacon, raisins, tangerines dipped in chocolate
Finish: gentle, honey, medium long, sweet, herbal, sage, cloves, light smoke, medium dry, slight bitter, hard herbs, laurel, rosemary, sage
Mark: +++++
Conclusion: very nice.

.part of the stone circle

More info: The Machrie Moor is a peatbog on the Isle of Arran with an ancient gathering of stone circles dating back more than 2500 years ago. There is a local folklore that the hound Bran used to be chained to one of the stones (picture: lower right) when he was not accompanying the the legendary giant Fingal. Personally I think it is an old millstone, but hey...

Once a year the distillery runs their stills with a couple of batches with malted barley that has been peated at the low level of only 12 ppm. The last couple of years they operate more weeks and with a higher ppm value.
Batch #3 has been released in a small-ish batch of 12.000 bottles.

Tasted at the Arran distillery, as part of tasting flight #3: Arran malts limited edition. Retasted as part of the Gold tour.