Golden Yellow color. The nose is heavy, thickly oaked, and complex: some curious barley-sugar notes here shrouded in soft smoke. Big, but seductively gentle, too. The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into the warming, full-blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) - the custard presumably is oaky vanilla - hammers home that barley - fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all, but for extra food measure the flavors develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolutely resonates through the palate. The finish is a slight struggle here as the mouthfeel gets a bit puffy here with the dry peat and oak; enough molassed sweetness to see the malt through to a satisfying end, though. Above all the spices, rather than lying down and accepting their fate, rise up and usher this extraordinary whisky to its exit.

Third Finest Whisky in the World, Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2010, Rated 97/100.

World Whisky of the Year, Malt Advocates Whisky Awards 2011

Grand Master of World Whisky at the Spirits Business Awards in London, 2011