Arran Master of Distilling II The Man with the Golden Glass

Nose: pungent, like a swipe in the nostrils, malt, wood, sherry, but also pine and pine cones forest, pine resin. Palate: always this Scots pine that pervades the mouth, with honey, malt, candied oranges. Warm and enveloping but unfortunately with a bitter aftertaste of "corked". Final: see above, corked and bitter, unfortunately long enough because it leaves an unpleasant taste. Rating 3.50 _______________________________________________________________ Naso: pungente, come una sciabolata nelle narici, malto, legno, sherry, ma anche foresta di pini e pigne, resina di pino. Palato: sempre questo pino silvestre che pervade la bocca, con miele, malto, arance candite. Caldo ed avvolgente ma purtroppo con retrogusto amarognolo di “tappato”. Finale: vedi sopra, tappato ed amarognolo, purtroppo abbastanza lungo perché lascia un sapore non piacevole. Voto 3,50

Lacking depth. Plenty of sherry notes but it doesn’t add much in itself

Tastes a little chocolatey smells more boozy than it feels. Very good

Revisiting after some time and only a few drams left in the bottle. I really like this whisky. I know there aren’t many out there who share this opinion but this the kind of whisky I like if it isn’t peated. Especially for a 12y age statement this is really rich and interesting. Nose: After pouring and letting it breathe for some minutes it spreads a nice chocolate note. From the glass directly you get a super interesting and intensified nose with soft sour juicy fruits, caramelized hazelnuts and creamy fudge with some vanilla creme brûlée. It has a very sweet nose which can be off putting for some individuals but I really like it for that. It has a nice fresh sourness as well which gives it a proper young note as well, but the alcohol (from a Norlan glas) on the nose is just at a right spot. Palate: first hard toffee candy with a intense sweetness - then it gets quite hot and sharp with flavors of sour patches, fresh fruit salad, and roasted chili-nuts - after about half a minute on the palate it becomes creamy, quite malty and very nutty (hazelnut nougat creme) with a mild chocolate note as well. It isn’t too sweet at least for my taste. The alcohol with its nearly 52% ABV is prominent but leaves enough space to let all the flavors develop nicely if you give it time in the mouth. The finish is roasted cocoa nibs, really quite woody, cold coffee, nut shells, burned sugar and a chili coat in the back of the throat. After a while it leaves a metallic sensation in the mouth. A great interesting and intense whisky for its age. I always am happy to return to it. A shame not many like it really. I already have a second bottle waiting that I - once this one is empty - I will return to in a year or two and see if it still holds up.