Crispy Duck in my Scotch?

I've been enjoying the first bottle of scotch from my new membership in the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, an 11 year old from the Isle of Arran. For those note familiar with the SMWSA and it's parent (now owned by Glenmorangie, Plc) the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the society bottles single casks from more than 120 different distilleries (largely in Scotland, but also a few from Japan, I believe) and distributes these one-of-a-kind bottlings to members of the society. The catch is that the bottlings are not identified by name, but by a numbering system (this first bottle I received is number 121.30) that started out from an agreement to not advertise the origins of the whisky in order to maintain access to a broad array of distilleries. That said, the hints are often quite heavy as to the origin, and a number of other writers (such as Jim Murray and Serge Valentin) have freely identified the distilleries in their reviews.

The society also seems to have a lot of fun with devising tasting notes to put on the bottle. This Arran, for instance, coming at 11 years of age and bottled at 55.6% abv is described as "crispy aromatic duck and Waldorf salad." Well, Waldorf salad is quite a stretch, but the crispy duck I can see once I get into the glass. The color is bronzy-gold and the un-diluted nose is burnt sugar, varnish, rose petals and, yes, glazed chicken or duck -- Asian style, not French. I get surprisingly little nose prickle on this one, and its mouth feel is quite round, spicy, with some citrus notes at the end. With water, the nose develops more caramel or taffy, more flowers, honeysuckle, and butterscotch. I also get turpentine, but not in a bad way. The taste is still spicy and austere, but with more honey coming through. An enjoyable dram, but not a stunner.