Arran Small Batch

The Peated Small Batch series at Arran functions as a flexible release format for peated stock sitting outside the formal numbered Machrie Moor releases. Where Machrie Moor editions are timed annually and use specific vatting compositions, the Small Batch peated releases draw on smaller volume parcels of peated spirit that produce coherent character but not at the scale required for a full numbered Machrie Moor batch. Following the opening of Lagg distillery in 2019, the peated production at Lochranza became a finite legacy inventory, increasing the value of these smaller batch outlets.

Maturation runs in ex Bourbon American oak casks at Lochranza, drawing on peated spirit distilled at the original 14 to 20 ppm peating specification used at Lochranza before peated production transferred to Lagg. Bottled at 58.6% reflecting the natural cask strength of the smaller batch vatting, with no chill filtration and no added colour.

The peat character at Lochranza derives from barley peated to a moderate ppm level at the malting stage, with guaiacol, methyl guaiacols and cresol phenolics carried into the new make through the kiln drying process. American oak maturation contributes vanillin and whisky lactones that integrate with the phenolic load over the cask period. The 47.2% bottling preserves the lipid fraction that filtered bottlings would lose, retaining textural depth alongside the smoke.