Coming from the ever impressive distillers at The Isle of Arran, Machrie Moor is a lightly peated single malt named after the large peat bog on the West side of the island. Built on their fantastic new make spirit, the bottling available now is the second edition, part of a limited run of 12,000 bottles, and weighs in at 46%Nose: Opening with light peat and smoke, the sweet, malty notes ultimately give way to reveal vanilla crème brûlée. This is matched up nicely with a faint yet interesting combination of apples and citrus.
Palate: Rich, warm, and fruity. The light citrus begins to develop an undercurrent of orange, while red apples remain distant, yet detectable. A light iodine note appears at the same time as a honeyed sweetness, before dashing off to the finish.
Finish: Dry and lightly salty, the sweet orange finally evolves with the simultaneous appearance of chocolate, ultimately conjuring thoughts of Terry's Chocolate Orange. Late into the finish, a candied peach note also develops, delivering a delightful denouement to the whole affair.
Overall: Great stuff. A whisky worth seeking out, which is lamentably something you will need to do as I cannot get the LCBO's product search function to reveal this whisky's whereabouts. Yet I personally have seen this bottle in many locations. I recommend giving a call ahead if you are looking for this one. For those not subjugated by Ontario's spirit overlord, good luck on your hunt.
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I managed to pick up the last two bottles in Ottawa a few months ago. According to the LCBO website (as of Jan 10, 2013), there are 14 bottles left in Ontario (6 are 2625D Weston Road in the GTA).
Haven't cracked either of them open yet as I'm waiting for our 'Peated Whisky' Tasting Event (forthcoming...).
Arran also seems to have recently released the 3rd Edition, but it doesn't seem to have found its way to Canada yet...