The Nose: A rather soft, calm, delightful nose where I was expecting a little more island thunder…but on the other hand, it’s a richer nose than you have with most blends. Lots of nice round grain, bittersweet chocolate, and roasted nuts tempered with some citrus fruit, maybe a bit of raisin and stewed fruit as well. There’s also a nice honeyed floral quality that’s most likely the Speyside talking but it’s very well-integrated. The maritime character comes across as subtle peat reek, not much smoke at all, more vegetal, earthy, and damp.

The Palate: Rich mouth feel with sweet, balanced grain to start. A faint honey-roasted nuttiness leads on as the Skye flavors kick the Speysides to the curb. There’s a great touch of that sharp, scorched-earth Talisker quality and a little more smoke here than the nose, but that’s not saying much, this is not a big, smoky whisky. A little more nice, earthy, green peat, some drying oak, and coastal brine lead to…

The Finish: Peppery, peaty, and a little ashy and salty with nice length.