Arran Distillery, Scotland     founded: 1995 | active
For more detailed mapping of the distilleries in the area from our whisky map page, use this link.

It was all about the ‘old school sweet shop’. A candied treasure chest of sparkling delights as well as ye ol’ traditional cola cubes and pear drops or in some cases a fruit pastille mishap! The aromas wafted to the cafe next door where weekend brunchers were deciding on raspberry jam, burnt orange marmalade or honey (specifically Futurama space bee honey) to drizzle on their hot crumpets soaked in butter. Farmer Joe strolled in, smelling of hay or hang on was that mothballs?

Despite its laid back cosy nose, this baby had a fiery, chili kick to it like diving into a beehive face first or for the more refined amongst us – good old Bucky! Without a doubt this is an after dinner treat! The desert trolley rolls by and crème caramel and rum and raisin ice-cream are on the menu but for the kids at the table fizzy foam strawberries and red laces could be an option. General consensus, ‘it has not quite blossomed but still full of bees’.

A Medium finish tying up all the above themes of bakeries, sweet shops and brunch with a lingering taste of hot cross buns, bacon and maple syrup pancakes and almonds with a splash of Dentist mouthwash and charred barrels just to round it off.

~£39 (70cl)

Master of Malt: Arran Amarone Cask Finish   |   http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/arran/ar

We've always scored out of 10 in our group (see number in red box, below), with scores regularly given across that spectrum. The value out of 100 below is adjusted to the scale most commonly used for whisky reviews, to allow for better comparison.

76 / 100