Auchentoshan 2000 17 Year Un-Chillfiltered Collection (Signatory)

The nose has some really nice smoke and peat with some sweet fruitiness alongside it, sort of like peaches. Some malt and vanilla scents come through too. It smells really good, reminding me of Highland Park 18 a bit and smelling about right in terms of age for 17 years old. That palate is smooth with some spiciness giving it life, but no alcohol harshness. It has moderate-to-high viscosity. There's a lot of peat and smoke along with some nice bourbon barrel spices that bring with them some sweetness and hints of apple and cherry. Shockingly, this is much better than Signatory's Glentauchers 20 and Fettercairn 29. That smokiness really carries through nicely. The palate is very good, including a tamed gross bread that is fairly nice and fits well with the herbal elements introduced with the peat. The smoothness is really impressive, as is the butterscotch sweetness. This could pass as a nice Islay Scotch for sure. Digging deep, there are further subtleties, though they are hard to pick out. There's some grassiness too. It reminds me a bit of that usual Signatory flavor mixed with Laphroaig 10 and then aged until it's is smoother. It's surprising that it tastes so strong with such a mild color, but I guess that's true for Ardbeg too. This isn't as good as something like Ardbeg Supernova 2019 or Traigh Bhan, but it's very good. This would be excellent if the palate were as good as the nose, but I do really like it as it is.