Apologies for the bad picture of an empty bottle, but between my greedy gulps and the many requests to share this went from open to empty in a matter of days. It comes with a reputation of the most promising debut since Kilkerran and I think the comparison is a worthy one. While the Campbeltown upstart took its time to show its full potential, this three-year-old release arrives fully formed, suggesting the second distillery on Skye is a worthy neighbor to Talisker. The nose bristles with crushed sea shells, salt and lemon and once the bottle has had some time to breathe the liquid yields a compelling mix of tangy peat, salt and grapefruit in the mouth that tapers to a citrusy aftertaste. There are none of the grassy off-notes or feints that one associates with young whiskies. The balance and intensity of the flavors suggests there must be some kind of voodoo at play over on Skye and for a second I wondered if they were sneaking over to Talisker at night and stealing a few barrels. I don’t want to overhype this - the initial pours were a little disappointing beyond the nose. But once it opened up it proved hard to resist. That empty bottle will be replaced immediately.