Review #972 - Machrie Moor Third Edition
Many distilleries in Scotland produce multiple types of spirit over the course of a year; often this is a combination of peated and unpeated distillate, with examples like Ardnamurchan, Caol Ila, and Bruichladdich being some of the most famous. That's also the case at Arran, or Lochranza distillery, as it's now known; actually, that isn't true anymore, as the distillery ceased their peated production back in 2017. Now, all of the peated whisky under their ownership is produced at neighboring Lagg distillery.
Back when Isle of Arran Distillers did produce peated whisky at Lochranza, they branded it differently compared to the unpeated style. This peated malt was called Machrie Moor, and it was an annual release - originally all at 46% ABV, but they later added an annual cask strength version as well. Here we have the Third Edition of Machrie Moor, which was bottled in 2012.
There's no distillation vintage, age statement, or cask type specified on this bottle or aluminum tin; in fact, detailed information related to this release is quite limited. We do know that a total of 12,000 bottles were produced that year, and some research online points toward a peat level of roughly 20 ppm on the barley, which we would generally classify as a 'medium' peat level.
Since this is an older release, the only way to find it these days is via the secondary market, whether that be auction sites or another method. Because these Machrie Moor bottlings are not well known in the US, we were able to pick this bottle up for a bargain price of $45; modern versions of this brand seem to go for between $60 and $75. Let's see how this peaty Arran stacks up.
Machrie Moor Third Edition
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 63 (2026)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 46% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled 2012; 12,000 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: The complexion is light, and this is a bit spirity and young. Orchard fruits like green apple combine with lots of citrus like lemon-lime soda, orange sherbet, and tart lemons. Buttery malt is accented by mineral scents and very subtle woody, charcoal-like peat. Effervescent tonic water and margaritas were one-off notes.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. It's fruity and malty - yellow apples, sweet cereal grains, orange sherbet, lemons, and limes start us out. Peat smoke is relatively soft but builds to a medium influence. It's fizzy and effervescent, quite citrus-forward overall; time brings nuances of buttered croissants, petrichor, dry oak, graham crackers, and charcoal. Vanilla, yellow cake, and a hint of salt were additional accents.
Finish: It's a tart finish with a lot of citrus - lemons, light malt, bright and youthful. White pepper, citrus gummy candies, soda water, menthol, and a very soft hint of oak come next; in the aftertaste, there's a strange artificial sweetness, almost like a sugar substitute. It's a medium length finish.
Final Note: We found the peat smoke to be relatively subtle on this 'Peated Arran Malt.' The dominant flavors for us across all of the tastings were citrus notes, especially lemon, and there's definitely some youthful character lingering. We aren't sure how old this whisky is, but we wouldn't be surprised by a single digit age; it isn't an unpleasant single malt overall, just a bit undercooked and plain in our opinion.
Despite the reasonable price for this bottle, the value here suffers because it wasn't quite to our taste. Generally speaking, Arran and Lochranza are creating fantastic whiskies, but this specific bottling was a miss for us.
Our Rating: 4.9 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 4.97
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
