Caroni 16 Year Cask Collection (A.D. Rattray)

This has quite a strong smell to it. It smells vaguely peaty and it tastes that way too with a surprisingly prominent iodine presence. It smells rich, smoky, sweet with a bit of cherry, toffee, and wood. The palate has a lot of alcohol that brings a huge hit of menthol. The wood is very present, but there are also some surprising mineral notes. There are hints of dark red fruit (cherry) but they aren't overly strong. It's very woody and drying. I appreciate the richness of it, but it actually might have gone a little too far and become over-oaked. That bit of peat is certainly there, bringing in the smoke and menthol. To that extent, it actually tastes a little like mezcal. There are some firework flavors that taste a little like popcorn kernels. It's a solid enough sipper, but it isn't a favorite.