Not all single casks are created equal, and although most of this batch of single casks from MoM were really good (with some excellent ones as well), here is an example of one that IMHO missed a little. The relatively Isle of Arran produced some fine malt, and I have previously reviewed both OBs and single casks which were rather delicious. This one is a little bizarre in its DNA, displaying some peppery notes i have not grown accustomed to with Arrans, but hey – it’s me. Some will probably like those.. In addition i have begun sounding 
like a broken record with so many positive reviews of the MoM single casks, that it’s good to see there are some better casks and lesser ones too.
Arran 16 Year Old – Single Cask (Master of Malt) 55.4%, £53
Nose: barely, malt, apples, hints of banana, polished oak , nutmeg and pepper
Palate: Big alcohol bite there, with a lot of black pepper , apples, a bit more fruit, maybe a cherry or an odd grape. quite strong, getting bitter and woody towards the end.
Finish : quite spicy with pepper, ginger powder, some fruit and malt.
All in all a very peppery and quite alcoholic arran, i am missing some butter and oak here. good stuff, but not something very special, and a bit to harsh with the alcohol felt quit strongly. I think a bit of water would do this one good, but again, among the Arrans I’ve tried lately, you can do better.
If you look good, in the MoM site, you can see a sister cask for the same arran 16 which should be nicer, so hopefully i will be able to taste that one and see for myself. (So i was told by Ben of MoM, and knowing the guy, it’s probably very true).
score: 80/100
official sample provided by MoM
Got a bottle of this one from the wife today, as I’ve been babbling about Attan malt for a few weeks now. Tasted a few bottlings from the destillery, and I am seriously in love with their style.
The label does not match the one that is shown on your picture though, so it must be the sister cask from MoM.