Arran 14 year old - 46%

THIS bottle didn't last long. It immediately grabbed me and drew me straight in with its fabulous, ever-evolving nose. It's very easy to drink and I can't wait to try next year's 18, which I'm sure will be an absolute belter. Keep your eyes open for all Arran's products - this is an exciting distillery which is starting to make waves. It's also non-chill filtered and the back label on the bottle explains why this is a good thing. Kudos to Arran for explaining exactly why they don't chill filter their malts. Another bottle - along with the 10-year-old is on the shopping list.

Nose: There's a lot going on here, so fasten your seat belt! This is fresh, clean and malty. There's hard-boiled barley sugars, vanilla custard, tart green apples, peaches, toffee, wet grass, honey and slight floral notes. There's also smashed ginger snap biscuits, hazelnuts, ground cinnamon, subtle mint, woody coconut, a sliver of lemon rind and a drop of grapefruit juice. Still with me? Good.

Palate: Rich and syrupy - this has a great mouth feel. There's bags of floral notes, which are joined by sweet citrus, vanilla, cinnamon, fruit jam and it ends with a spicy kick of white pepper.

Finish: Dry and spicy with a twist of pepper and a spoonful of fruity vanilla yoghurt. It's all tied together with a slight bitterness and hint of yeast. It doesn't sound particularly appealing, but trust me, this is a fabulous dram.

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