A sweet malt, the Arran 14 year old has plenty of fruity notes, given weight by the woody, spicy cask flavours.

Mid-amber in colour, much like the 10 year old, there are an array of fruits on the nose – red fruits like raspberries all the way to tropical (bananas!). There is also the characteristic Arran malty note, and a well balanced woodiness, which comes through as vanilla, cinammon, and allspice.

To taste it is sweet and mid-bodied, with toffee, maltiness, a little pepper, perhaps some mint, and plenty of vanilla from the casks.

A comforting malt, the Arran 14 year old is one to sip when you are re-reading a favourite book.

It’s interesting to chart the progress of the whisky as it evolves, because unlike older, more established distilleries, each new release of older Arran is a first. Spirit was first run at Arran in 1995, with a youthful whisky being released a few years later, and the 10 Year Old in 2006. The 14 Year Old, the next stage in the evolution of the whisky, was launched in 2010. The eventual aim is to have a core range of malts at ages 10, 14, and 18.

£40/70cl, from the distillery website, Royal Mile Whiskies, The Whisky Exchange, and independent retailers