To taste this whisky, I suggest you go to the west coast of the Isle of Arran, where it was distilled at the Lochranza distillery. 

Let's take this opportunity to discover the new face of the Isle of Arran since its 'partition'. Whereas the initial creation of Machrie Moor once depended on the ARRAN distillery alone (in the north of the island), there are now two production centres.

In the north, the LOCHRANZA distillery (formerly ARRAN) produces unpeated whisky, while the LAGG distillery in the south is a peat paradise. 

For my part, I'm going to the centre of the island to Machrie Moor Standing Stone Circle. To do this, I put on my boots and head straight for the marshy areas in the centre of the island, surrounded by hills.

The sun is shining (yes, it is), I park Bradpeat and find a dry spot to sit in the shade of one of the stones planted here by the Giant Fingal. 

He would have done so in honour of his fallen comrades in battle against the Vikings!

In this place steeped in history, I think of this battle and the Giant's Causeway that the sacred Fin had built between Ireland and Scotland to go and fight Bennandoner (probably because of a trivial affair with Fin's wife during an evening drunk on whisky and whiskey -NDR-), another of his giant buddies. 

I'd like to remind you of the famous battle (if you like) between the Scottish Giant and the Irish Giant that I had the opportunity to tell you about during a Sexton tasting adventure in Ireland (here).

A pavement destroyed by this same friend on his way home losing! But all these thoughts should not distract me from my primary mission: to taste a perfect whisky in the right place.  

So I pulled out my glencairn and uncorked the mysterious bottle with the Bran dog on it. As the liquid poured into the glass, it appeared straw yellow, indicating that it had been aged in bourbon casks.

The nose that emerges from the glass is first of all fresh and floral. I take a deep breath, looking at the standing stones in front of me, and plunge my nose back into the glass.

I now find the smoky aromas predicted by this Lochranza made from peat-dried barley grain to reach a level of 20 ppm (nice and smooth). A third swirl of my nose in the glass reveals citrus fruit and perhaps even tropical fruit. A nice start. Now it's time for the tasting.

Just as I'm about to taste this sweet beverage, I hear a barking sound without paying attention. 

On the palate, the predicted peatiness is not immediately apparent, as the first impression is of fruit, citrus, almost almond. 

As I swish the liquid around in the corners of my mouth, the earth begins to shake beneath me. 

Just then, the peat explodes in my mouth as if a lump of oakum that had been blocking the chimney had suddenly been released. 

Wow, there's only 20 ppm? My eye! What an effect that makes me wobble before giving way to a few tastes of pineapple and almond.

I turn round and see (and above all feel, given the tremors) a Fingal appear in the distance, accompanied by his faithful Bran. I barely have time to hide behind a thicket, when long aromas of peat and citrus fruits return to my throat.

It was in this hidden position that I saw the giant throw his dog's chain around the stone I had been standing on two seconds earlier. Afraid of being detected by the smell of peat in my glass, I throw in a few drops of water. Thinking it would be a sin not to try it with water, I drip again, only to discover a taste of white chocolate.

Knowing that the wait was going to be long, I looked down at my bottle for a refill and swung it around to see that the chain on the dog's neck was attached to a rock! Perhaps I should have been more wary of the famous legends!

In any case, if you're ever on the Isle of Arran, a word of advice: take a seat, but not in the shade of one of the standing stones at Machrie Moor Standing Stone, before discovering the island's two distilleries, of course.