A marriage of earth and sea: Armore distillery makes a very peated malt that is so different in style from the coastal ones. We decided to let two worlds shake hands, by letting this smoky Speyside malt rest in casks which had previously contained equally smoky whisky from an Islay distillery. The Speyside whisky of course still dominates with its typical toffee notes, its fruitiness of bananas, lemon peel and apples well noticeable behind the peat. And as typical of this distillery, there is a touch of damp earth and piney notes too. But it’s immediately evident both at nose and palate that there’s something more: a slightly drier character, a whiff of salty maritime influence. The use of second fill casks allows the distillate to remain clean and to speak boldly without too much oak influence. The result is powerful, intense, and yet refined.
