Arran Machrie Moor Batch 4 Review

 “Unfinished Business”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Island - Arran

Brand: Arran Machrie Moor Batch 4 (Peated)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (My guess: 5-10 Years)

ABV: 46 %

Colour: Pale White Wine

Nose: The first impression is a wave of Rubber and Plastic. I picked up the glass after a couple of minutes again and thankfully things had calmed down. This is without any doubt a young Whisky. There's still a New Make feel to the Spirit with some slightly artificial Orchard Fruit and Grass Aromas. The Alcohol is very present and a bit Harsh and Edgy. I also find Earthy Peat, light Smoke, Sweet Cereals, Buttered Toast, Bounty Chocolate Bars, Pineapple, Yeast, Lemon and some BBQ Aromas. A hint of Menthol and some Vanilla after a while. It's not really bad but terms like Unfinished, Messy and Lack of Balance come to mind. Arran mostly produces unpeated Spirit and I can certainly see why. Their young Spirit seems perhaps a bit too Light and Delicate to be able to deal with the Peaty Aromas in a balanced way.   

Palate: Bitter-Sweet, Fiery and quite Dry towards the end. Despite the solid ABV, the delivery is still slightly Watery. Alongside the Earthy Peat and light Smoke, I find Lemon, Grapefruit, Pear Drops, slightly Sour Apples, Vanilla, Young Wood, Nuts, Brown Sugar, Pepper and Cardamom.   

Finish: Not overly long with Cereals, Brown Sugar, Nuts, Dry Earth, light Smoke, Young Alcohol, light Vanilla, Pepper and clear Licorice - and Menthol notes.  

The Arran Machrie Moor does not improve with added Water. 

Rating: 78 

Nose: 20 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5

General Remarks: Arran is a very young distillery and only started selling Single Malts in 1995. It is located on the Isle of Arran, off the Scottish West Coast. Machrie Moor is the name of a Peat Bog on the West Coast of the island. The Single Malt I'm tasting today is lightly peated at 20 PPM. The first peated batch was released in 2010 while Batch 4 was released in 2013. It's not Chill-Filtered, most likely uncoloured and costs around 55 US Dollars (August 2015). It won't be easy to find though as only a limited number of bottles was released. In the meantime Batch # 5 was released in 2014.

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Conclusion: I don't know if Arran decided to launch this peated Spirit as an experimental novelty or out of necessity to make cash with young Spirit using a mystical name and, I must admit, slick presentation. In any case I feel that the Machrie Moor is simply too Young, Rough and Unbalanced. I'm not impressed. What a difference with the Devil's Punch Bowl I reviewed earlier! That Spirit showed that Arran has ample possibilities to produce fine Single Malts. In my opinion however it's risky to launch young Spirits like the Machrie Moor that might turn off potential Arran fans. Maybe I'm a bit too Harsh but so is the Machrie Moor!

Jan van den Ende                                                                  August 17, 2015

Arran Devil's Punch Bowl Review

(You’re the) Devil in Disguise!

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Island - Arran

Brand: Arran Devil's Punch Bowl

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  NAS 

ABV: 52.3 %

Colour: Full Gold

Nose: Very Elegant with Lovely Soft Peat, Fine Oak, Buttered Toast and Apricot Marmalade, Apple Pie, Peach Pastry, Dried Fruits, Custard, Toffee, light Citrus Peel, Malt, Dried Herbs, a precise Cardamom note and a sprinkle of Salt. The Alcohol is nicely integrated. Well done! 

Palate: It's nice but it doesn't keep all the promises of the Nose. It's Sweet and Spicy at the same time with Apples, Orange flavoured Tea, Apricot, Lemon Zest, Oak, Mint, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Aniseed, very light Peat and a hint of Tobacco Leaves.

Finish: Sweet and Spicy with Peach, Apricot, Vanilla, Oak, Pepper, Nutmeg, Mint, Cardamom and a hint of Espresso.

With a bit of Water the Nose gets a little more Soft Peat, Fruit, Honey and Custard. Extra Spices and a hint of Bourbon on the Palate. This Arran invites you to play with a couple of drops of Water at the time.

Rating: 86

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: Arran is a very young distillery and only started selling Single Malts in 1995. It's located on the Isle of Arran, off the Scottish West Coast. The Devil's Punch Bowl is named after a terrific location on the Isle of Arran where a waterfall plunges in a pool in the form of a cauldron. This limited edition was released in 2012 and prepared with 24 Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry Casks that were selected and vatted by Arran Master Distiller James MacTaggart. For the first time both young peated - and mature unpeated Arran spirit was used to produce this Single Malt that is naturally coloured and bottled at Cask Strength. Only 6.660 bottles were commercialised. Upon its release it was sold at around 125 US Dollars but today you might need to add another 100 US Dollars to that!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A very nice Single Malt from this young distillery. It's certainly not a Devil on the Nose. On the contrary! I find it Elegant with Nice Fruit, Fresh Pastry, the Softest of Peat and a remarkable Cardamom note. The Nose is the beautiful Waterfall. The Palate and the Finish tell a slightly different story all together. Here I can visualise a Cauldron with its devilish mixture of Pepper, Nutmeg, Aniseed, Cardamom, Mint and Tobacco. Still, I would have loved to see a little more balance here. But this Arran honours its name and gives us an idea of what goodies we can expect from them in the future! 

Jan van den Ende                                                              February 14, 2014

Glen Elgin 1995 Anam Na H-Alba Review

“Too Hot Ta Trot”

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside

Brand: Glen Elgin 1995 (Anam Na H-Alba - The Soul of Scotland Series)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 17 Years

ABV: 58.1 %

Sample provided by Thomas from Germany. Many Thanks!

Colour: Golden Grain

Nose: The Alcohol is quite strong so it is really necessary to give this Glen Elgin enough time in the glass to open up. The Nose is Sweet and Floral with some Spicy undertones. I find Heather Honey, Citrus, Bourbon, light Vanilla, Toffee, Cereals, Butter Kekse, slightly Sour Green Apples, Canned Pineapple, Charred Oak, Old Book Shelves, Cinnamon, Ginger, Pepper and Cardamom. The Oak is quite present and so is the Alcohol. On the Nose this Glen Elgin only reluctantly shows its personality.

Palate: Very strong Delivery thanks to the high ABV. It's too strong in fact and quite Hot. On the Palate I find this Glen Elgin to be Bitter-Sweet, Woody, Waxy and quite Spicy with Charred Oak, Heather Honey, Malt, Hay, Orange Peel, Grapefruit Juice, Mandarin, Tropical Fruit Mix, Toffee, Milk Chocolate, Cinnamon, Menthol, Pepper, Cardamom, Bourbon and some Cocoa Powder.    

Finish: Quite Long, Woody, Bitter-Sweet and quite Dry in the end with Charred Oak, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Brown Sugar, Bourbon, Toffee, Pepper, Cinnamon, Menthol and a sprinkle of Salt. 

I added a little Water and on the Nose the Alcohol calms down of course.  The Barley, Vanilla and slightly Sour Apples become quite dominant. On the Palate the Citrus and Spices take over but the Finish gets a little Weaker. You can certainly add some Water but despite the high ABV its added value is limited.

Rating: 82

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5

Glen Elgin Distillery on a Winter's Day

General Remarks: This Glen Elgin 17 Years Single Cask Whisky was distilled on the 7th of November 1995 and was bottled at Cask Strength on the 26th of November 2012 by Indie Whisky bottler Anam Na H-Alba from the town of Oberhausen in Germany. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # 1663. This Glen Elgin is not Chill-Filtered and naturally coloured. The Bottles were sold at around US$ 75 a piece, relatively cheap for a Single Malt of this age (August 2015). It might be hard to find though! At Anam Na H-Alba it has been sold out for quite a while in the meantime!

The Glen Elgin distillery is located 4 miles south of Elgin in the village of Fogwatt close to the A 941. It was founded in 1898 by James Carle and William Simpson. It had its ups and downs but was finally bought by DCL in 1930. Today it's part of the Diageo Group and became one of their Classic Malts range in 2005. The 12 years is the Standard bottling but most of Glen Elgin's production is used in Blends like White Horse and Bell's. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is my first Glen Elgin. Therefore I have never tasted the young Spirit. The fact that most of it is used for simple Blends like White Horse and Bell's might indicate that it doesn't have a very strong own personality. That would explain the fact that after 17 Years of Ex-Bourbon Cask the Wood really came to dominate the Spirit. That might appeal to people who appreciate Old and Woody Bourbons but I found it a rather overwhelming experience. Not bad mind you but I felt like Forrest Gump or Woody Allen when I tasted this Glen Elgin. If you like this Aroma and Flavour Profile however, you might want to give it a try if you can find it as it's very reasonably priced for a Single Malt of this age.  

Jan van den Ende                                                                  August 13, 2015