Tastes

Sherry, almost port wine sweetness. Vanilla oak. Malty.

As promised, more cask influence: the peat is subdued and there's a heavy oakiness, whereas the opposite is true of the Laphroaig 10. This is peatier and darker, oakier than Triple Wood. This is less distinctive, and I personally prefer the classic 10 peatiness. I do, however, very much appreciate the higher ABV and it not being chill-filtered. 👍 If only this was the case with the Laphroaig 10, too.

Green apple, vanilla, marshmallow. I'm not getting much of the IPA influence, unfortunately.

Coffee beans and malt. Round and short.

Honey. Lots of honey. On the nose, palate, and finish. I'm getting very little else. Not very complex, though I'm sure someone with more experience can coax much more out of this. Butterscotch? A bit of citrus? The finish is short and dry, but a faint taste of honey comes back to haunt you. "Delicately smokey malt"? Well, very delicately so, then, because I'm getting no smoke of any kind from this. I usually add a bit of water even to 40% whisky, but this, at 43%, I prefer neat. Water seems to give the honey nose an unpleasant (to me) baby sick undertone. Time in the glass doesn't seem to do much. (note: four months later, I'm enjoying this more. Not sure if I'm just getting used to the abundance of honey or if the taste has actually changed a bit since I opened the bottle.)