Just wrong … on so many levels. 
Dave, many thanks for saving my topic in a silent dead!
This reminds me so much of a local producer which is quite well known for their gin (Forest Gin) and they decided to recently venture into whisky. Now, their own whisky won’t be ready until 2021 but in the meantime they have created a blend from different other whiskys which they are selling for a hefty price of £70 a bottle.
I went to college in New Orleans and drank more Johny Walker Red and Myers Rum than you might imagine. I had graduated from Seagram’s Gin in high school when a friend and I split a bottle at the drive in movie. Such a nasty experience; never again! A great mentor and friend introduced me to Passport blended scotch during my period in New York. I also discovered Cutty Sark. Always with club soda. This was the drink of the working certified public accountant and the mentor advertising man. It is the scotch to drink when you are drinking all day. When I graduated from that world, I never went back to the whiskey either.
I later discovered Glenmorangie in all its levels, even the $1000 Millennium recently at a conference when somebody else was buying. Glenmorangie is the value-brand of single malt and is perfectly adequate for me from now on. I also enjoy Woodford Reserve bourbon. A 750ml bottle is about $30 here, and 25% cheaper than Glenmorangie. If you can put your hands on a bottle across the pond, you are in for a treat. You have to be careful of boutique bourbons. I believe that all the ethanol comes out of a big plant owned by Seagram, and many of the boutique brands flavor it with their proprietary barrel strategies.
It is surprising to me that my son and his cousins drink better scotch than I do. I might alternate Oban and Dalwhinnie ( a buddy from Scotland calls it Dal-wimpy, but I like it), with Glenmorangie and soda. I don’t much like the Islays. Springbank and Ciao Ila are in a class of their own and at the ragged edge of my budget.
A couple of years ago, Mrs A and myself did a tour or Aaron, Campbeltown, Islay and a couple of Scottish mainland distilleries. Aaron was the first port of call and I picked up the Aaran Malt 14 yrs. Fruity, Caramel, coffee and chocolate. Delicious😀
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SMWS held a tasting in Cheltenham a few months ago. A really great evening of tasting, a meal … and more tasting! Came away with an arm full of bottles for special occasions.
Arran is a relatively new malt, I think the distillery was set up early to mid 90’s at Lochranza in Arran by an retired Chivas executive. They do produce some fine malts.
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A good few years ago we had a chap over from London working with us for a few weeks, when he was leaving he said he wanted to buy a good bottle of Irish whiskey for his Dad who was a whiskey fan, we duly suggested a bottle of rare Midleton which was probably about 100 quid at the time, he bought it in the duty free in Dublin airport and gave it to his Dad a few days later - naturally he was delighted. It remained unopened until the following Christmas when one evening when visiting his Dad they decided to crack it open, the Dad took a sip and immediately spat it out, long story short it turned out to be tea, apparently it’s common to fill display bottles with tea as it’s a similar colour - you know the ones you see in airports in display cabinets, anyway someone working there obviously swopped a real bottle for a display bottle, his Dad did eventually receive a real bottle and an apology!
Arran is an excellent malt (imho). The distillery at Lochranza is being complemented by a new distillery (almost completed) located at Lagg, close to the site of the original Arran distillery. I have friends on Arran and visited both distilleries recently.
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It’s a lovely island and have had many family holidays and short stays there, some at the Lagg hotel, good to see more jobs on the island. Combining beautiful Scottish scenery with distillery visits is a great combination.
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I also stay at the Lagg Hotel - will probably be golfing up there in April/May 
. Golf, malts, scenery, sailing, biking - what’s not to like!
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Midges?
April to early May should be midge free.
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Indeed. I suspect close to the coast should help too.
I am from the east coast of Scotland, where the midges are less of a problem. Haar in May is the enemy.
I wonder if a fairly mild winter will mean an early start for the midges, particularly if the weather stays mild over the next few weeks. Welsh midges are completely different from their Scottish partners in crime, but I’ve already seen some this year.
Coastal areas can certainly be less prone to midge attacks, easpecially when there’s an onshore breeze. Having said that, I recall a particularly savage attack of midges on Arran once - they were at their worst in a sunny spell on the summit of Goat Fell.
I have seen midges on a summit in the Cuillin in May, although it was the second half of May.
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