When I think about “Machrie Moor,” the first thing that comes to mind is not whisky. Rather, it’s the six stone circles on the Isle of Arran. These ancient grids date back to prehistoric times, when the world was a very different and mysterious place. Burial cairns and cliff-hanging cists also help to make Arran a very cool place to visit.
Of course, Arran distillery is another good reason to hit this isle next time you’re on a trip to Scotland. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump from Glasgow (about three hours by car and ferry). So why not? Arran is a nice pit stop on the way to Campbeltown, aside from being a little off the beaten path.
Dogfight: Bran vs. Shortie
Now, personally, if I were hired to design a bottle for Arran distillery called “Machrie Moor,” I would have adorned it with an ancient stone circle. But alas, I was not hired, and so we have a big dog on a leash instead. That product image might have been a close runner-up, even if I had been hired as an art director. Then again, considering that Ardbeg distillery also has a canine mascot, maybe it wouldn’t have been my second choice, either.
As you can see from the bottle, Arran’s dog is a lot more dangerous looking than Ardbeg’s. Unfortunately, the peat inside is quite a bit more tame, and frankly, less enjoyable to sip than pretty much all of Ardbeg’s offerings . . . except perhaps in 2013 when the Ardbeg 10 Year Old hit an all time low in quality.
Since we’re on the subject, the March 23, 2015 bottling of Ardbeg 10 Year Old 46% ABV is one of the best in a long time. I took the liberty of sipping it side-by-side next to the 1st Edition Regular Machrie Moor 46% ABV whilst hammering out this review, and it won handsomely in all respects, including the price.
This said, it would have been nice to see Shortie (the dog) on the label somewhere. I rather like Shortie. Believe it or not, I don’t have to drive very far to find his perky likeness. Why, you ask? Because Shortie is painted on the side of Highland Stillhouse Pub in Oregon City.
Yes, that’s right, Dr. Mick Secor’s pub is one of a handful of Ardbeg’s prestigious “embassies” around the planet, which officially celebrate Ardbeg Day!
Getting back to the 1st Edition bottle of Aran’s peated whisky currently under review, I can say with confidence that some people believe the dog’s name is “Machrie Moor,” and they refer to the bottle as “the whisky on a leash,” in a not entirely flattering manner. Be this as it may, I’m fairly sure the dog is named “Bran.”
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According to legends, Bran was a fierce hound indeed, which, coincidentally, was tethered by his owner to a very special stone in Circle Number 5. It’s also worth mentioning that his owner was none other than Fingal, the Scottish warrior of olde.
Bran could bite little Shortie in half if the two were real flesh and blood canines; however, in our comparison of product-centered mascots, Shortie kicks the living tar out of Bran. Yes, Ardbeg is the better peated whisky, hands down. Poor Bran just can’t compete.
Please bear in mind that I’m not referring to any of Arran’s extensive catalog of non-peated offerings. The spectrum of Arran’s whiskies cannot be matched by the likes of Ardbeg, which instead picks one type of whisky (peated), and then does it very well.
As I’ve already stated, for the purposes of today’s comparison, I tasted the 1st Edition Machrie Moor, and pitted it against the March 23, 2015 batch of Ardbeg 10 Year Old. Well done, Shortie! Good boy! Now, off you go.
A Marriage of Convenience?
When it comes to Machrie Moor “regular” whisky, problems arise, at least in this 1st Edition before me. The peat seems forced upon a spirit that wilts under the strain, rather than embracing the phenols. We’re not even talking about heroic levels of peat–somewhere in the neighborhood of fourteen parts per million.
The spirit also tastes rather young and fiery (seven or eight years of age), which isn’t always a bad thing. For instance, I’ve tasted young Ledaigs and Bunnahabhains that really come alive with a strong peaty, smoky, meaty type of scent and flavor. In the case of Machrie Moor, however, the opposite tends to happen.
Instead of a rough-and-tumble bravado, the spirit’s constitution rejects its peaty counterpart–almost like a groom with AB positive blood marrying an AB negative bride, without either of them taking the necessary medical precautions when their children are born.
Yes, it’s worth asking if peated Arran is a marriage of convenience or not. Is the distillery half-heartedly attempting to diversify its portfolio of offerings, or it is genuinely trying to cross the threshold into a world of peated single malt Scotch?
Whilst sipping a bit of Arran’s oldest peated offering, I find myself shaking my head. Uh-uh. It’s not powerfully peaty, it’s not succulently sweet, it’s not interestingly savory, and it’s not terribly well-balanced. Instead, what I taste is an interesting experiment that didn’t quite come together.
In other words, buying the 1st Edition Regular Machrie Moor, for me, would amount to a zero-sum game: my loss at the cash register equals the distillery’s profit for an offer that does not “deliver the goods,” so to speak. However, contrary to what some critics have said in rather harsh reviews, I give Arran “two thumbs up” for trying.
If at first you don’t succeed, learn from your mistakes, and try try again. . . . Although I have not tasted any of the newer cask strength offerings, I’m told that they are quite a bit better than this earlier 46% First Edition of Machrie Moor, which I have in front of me. Cask strength bottlings have silver writing and a silver illustration of Bran on his leash.
If you have a choice between a 46% bronze-colored label, and a cask strength silver-colored offering, my advice is to reach for a silver. Like the 46% “regular” editions, cask strength batches are NAS, but their ABV is obviously quite a bit higher.
The 46% bronze-colored 4th, 5th, and 6th Editions of the regular Machrie Moor, as well as Batches 1 and 2 of the Cask Strength Machrie Moor, are all peated to 20 PPM. If you can’t find a cask strength silver offering, or if you would like a regular bronze-colored Machrie Moor at the lower 46% ABV, I recommend avoiding any bottles that were released before the 4th Edition.
Tasting Notes
Vital Stats: 46%, OB, 1st “Regular” Edition, 14 PPM of peated phenols, 9000 bottles.
Appearance: Pale straw.
Nose: Burnt grass; peat that seems a bit uncivilized, lacking in character; red apple; gym socks; pine needles; palm oil.
Palate: Ah, the impatience of youth . . . it taxes one’s taste buds like a publican. Brazil nuts; lemon custard, as well as some lemon pith; day old croissant; green apple; bitter oak, and a hint of ash.
Finish: Medium to long, but it’s the young alcohol that prolongs this finish with clenched fists; wood fire smoke; used fish hooks; Tarn-X metal polish.
Overall, I can say there is promise in the taste of lemon-custardy notes on the palate, as well as a toasted nuttiness that rushes to greet one, albeit in a slightly desperate way. In the end, bitter oak and the young spirit overpower any finer qualities, while the peat is, quite frankly, a bit wonky. For me, the nose had little-to-no redeeming characteristics. I’m not one to put lipstick on a pig, and then take her to the county fair to sit in a kissing booth. That’s just not fair to my readers.
Final Thoughts:
As I’ve mentioned earlier in this review, I think that later cask strength versions of the Machrie Moor, with a higher PPM ratio, are worth investigating. I really do like the way Arran seems to have learned from its mistakes in the batch that I happen to be reviewing here. In all fairness, this bottle was released many moons ago. My review is really more for posterity than anything else.
From a philosophical standpoint, this dram is forgiving. By that, I mean that it represents a “work in progress.” And let’s not forget how some folks really enjoyed the 1st Edition 46% Regular Machrie Moor. Even as I type these words, it is selling for nearly $200 on The House of Rare Whisky website!
Like an argument with a friend, the problem for me lies in a distillery that keeps reproducing its mistakes unapologetically, and I just don’t see that happening with Machrie Moor. The distillery upped its PPM’s of peat after the Third Edition of the regular offering, and also released a cask strength version, which is now on its second batch.
I strongly suspect the peat used in later batches has risen in quality–that is, if the higher reviews of these later batches are tell-tales signs of improvement. Call me an optimist, but I suspect that Bran’s legacy has gotten a lot better as the years go by. In other words, I am quite keen on trying Batch 2 of the Cask Strength Machrie Moor, as well as the 6th Edition of the Regular Machrie Moor (46%).
Whew! All of these batches and editions can get confusing! You’ve gotta hand it to the folks at Arran distillery. If eight different batches of Machrie Moor over the past six years are any indication, then they are definitely making an effort to improve their peated offerings.
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