Arran Machrie Moor Fingal's Cut Sherry Cask Finish

There is an old Scottish poem, that tells the story of Fingal, a Giant warrior, who lived in "Fingal's Cave", an actual place in Ireland if i am not wrong (marvelous looking thing by the way), who had a wolf as a pet, and who created the "Machrie Moor" a circle of rocks, similar to Stonehenge but less good looking. For Arran distillery, "Machrie Moor" is the name of their peated expression, and "Fingal's cut" is a special type of Machrie Moor, often bottled at Cask Strength. Actually, this one has all the right words to it: heavily peated, Sherried, single cask strength. Bottled at 54.4%abv, this has a chesnut color to it. On the nose itbis crazy good. Oregano spice, bacon, cherries, lemon peel and chocolate. It has this aroma of detergent and Filet mignon. Also green prunes and chocolate. Wow, this is a Rollercoaster. On the palate it is a cherry madness. Maple syrup, plums and lemon. Sweet and sour, this is out of this world. Aftertaste is tongue scorching in a good way. Smokey, very smokey. Spicy and herbal; this is a bonfire. Burning hay,  peaty, marvelous. Overall, Arran is nowadays ranked as one of my favorite distilleries, it just never dissappoints. This is absolutely gorgeous as a single malt, super complex, full of character and flavor and it goes for less than 50 pounds in Arran's website. Of course i have paid 3 times that because i live in Ecuador and getting it here is difficult, but if you have to make an effort to get a whisky, this is the one. My score is 100 over 100. Slàinte!

Miniature bottle purchased from the distillery shop. Not getting too much on the nose, some peat and dark fruits. Taste is fiery with a little 🔥 lovely Sherry notes with a nice little hit of peat giving a smoky aftertaste. Full, oily mouthfeel, I quite like this.

Nose: orange, chocolate and smoke Taste: weak, some spice, cherry, raisins and peat Finish: soft, short finish Disappointing, not very strong with minimal taste.

Dod they take the sherry out before they filled these casks? Wow! Its dark - a deep sherry-red brown - and powerfully sweet. At cask strength it packs a punch too.