Nose: Sweet, heavy floral woody notes. Muesli and vanilla yoghurt drizzled with manuka honey ; tropical flowers in a hothouse (hibiscus and frangipani) that are dusky and almost stifling in their fleshy, dank aromatic presence. Lemon zest, pineapple, banana, stone fruits (apricot, nectarine, peach), some orchard fruit. What a seductress of a nose! Palate: Sweet arrival - very sweet, almost syrupy. The development brings out a flood of warm spicy notes that unfold like a glowing blanket, build to an almost-but-not-quite hot crescendo, and then subside to mild warmth. The texture is oily and dense and carries a host of sweet fruity and floral flavours. The seduction is complete - I submit! Finale: Medium. Sweet cereal, citrus and malty notes fade to a mild bittersweet aftertaste that is quite excellent. Standing ovation. The sauternes-fu is strong with this one. Whew, so much dessert wine influence! I know from the horse's mouth that Arran likes to use wet casks, but these must still have had liters of sauternes sloshing around in them. You'd be forgiven for thinking this would produce something franken-awful, but not at all. It's delicious and amazingly fresh and vigorous. However, don't bring expectations of po-faced elegance to the gunfight, because you'll be dead in the sand. This is all Mae West, showing her sassiest and most sophisticated side. Yee-ha! Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? This is the first of three reviews, tasting the cask-finished trio from Arran. We're off to a blazing start. This is a stunning whisky (tasted from a 30ml sample) "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)