Arran Whisky tastings

I'd decided to pick up one of the Arran whiskies, and figured some of their minitures would allow me to try a few others, cheaply. So here's the tasting notes.

Robert Burns : blend, 40%
Nose: soap, rubber, water, rubber gloves
Palate: honey, soap, not much flavour, watery, not very distinctive, but pleasant enough
Finish: short, hint of spice

Nothing very interesting, but a cut above many blends, 5/10. Went down quickly which is a good sign.

Robert Burns : single malt, 40%
Nose: very pale, rubber, grass,
Palate: honey, quick thick, limited taste
Finish: short

There is an absence of taste here, the honey is overwhelming, but only as there is nothing else to taste. A disappointing dram, 4/10. I'd prefer the blend.

The Arran Malt: Single malt, 46%, 10yo.
Nose: rubber, spice, manuka honey,
Palate: more flavour, honey, pepper, hint of salt, aniseed (grows)
Finish: med-long, salt, aniseed.

This shows more complexity and develops on the palate.Initially quite disappointing, the flavours grow and continue for some time. I was going to give this a 5, but I think a 6 or 6.5/10 is more deserved. For the entry level whisky, it's intriguing and has a wonderful aniseed finish.

The Arran Malt : single malt, Sherry single cask.
Cask#536, bottle 315/325, d 12.8.96, b. 5.2.10, 57.7%

Nose: big, rubber, fresh cut grass, honey and maybe chocolate
Palate: velvety, honey, huge explosive flavour, caramel, aniseed, more honey with addition of water.
Finish: long, hint of salt, pepper

This bottle redeemed the others. It is a very good whisky, complex, powerful, hints of it's island origin, but also an interesting mix of more traditional highland flavours. It does benefit from a little water to open up the complexity. The water brought out a significantly increased sweetness, again manuka honey - so that strong tangy flavour. Went well with the Internal Exile and Credo videos.
I think it's too young. I think another 5-10 years in cask could make this one of the top flight whiskies. As it is, I'll give it a 7-7.5/10, and will enjoy drinking it on cold winter (or in this country, summer) nights, but suspect it's going to turn into something similar to the Glengoyne 20yo. There's distinct hints that the caramel/honey is going to develop reducing the tang of the salt/pepper.

So yeah not a bad distillery, but it does matter which one you get.

Me.