Royal Brackla 12 Year (Discontinued)

There seems to be a wide range of opinions out there about this one, ranging from the closest to a negative Ralfy review that I've seen on down to people raving about how fabulous this is. I'm much closer to the latter camp, personally...though the range of opinions suggests perhaps a struggle for consistency on the distillery's end. Nose-wise, the first thing to hit is a big saltiness, followed by dark dried fruit, marzipan (or halva), peppermint, savory herbs, and some lemon zest. The palate is rich and dense, opening with the sherry fruits and nuts, then swirling around into a salty, every so very slightly smoky fog of herbs lightened by that tiny hint of citrus. A fine dram, and one of the better sherry-influenced single malts in the under-$50 (barely) range.