N: Delicate, fragrant peat smoke. It's the first note, but far from overpowering. Wet earth, dried cherries, orchard fruit. A fleeting and elusive sea spray may be there, may not. Caramel, butterscotch, lemon cookies. It's not sea spray, it's seaweed - just hit me. Fireplace embers, hint of tobacco, roasted duck fat. P: Big mouthfeel - rich and oily. Brown sugar and bacon. Dried dark red fruit. Cinnamon sprinkled on vanilla cream. Butterscotch. Lots of oak. Little bit of something vegetal, like a chili pepper—feels like a product of some interplay between the peat (veggie) and the wood (spice), rather than that bell pepper taste that sometimes pops up in whiskies (or more often wine). Also a little bit of earth and dirt. Finish is spicy, but on the short side. Wood, tannins, and mild lingering smoke mingle with an also mild cinnamon spice. And then it just fades away... This is a remarkably mild-mannered, well-behaved monster. I made the mistake of opening this later on the same night, for comparison sake, that I opened a Lagavulin 16. I could hardly even tell this was peated in comparison. But, after separating the two over the past month, this has grown into its own place. It has an excellent nose with a subtle, recurring fruitiness that is quite pleasant. But it takes work to get it. Many of the scents I list above I did not pick up until I really sat down and thought about this dram for the sake of this review. It is not an obvious whisky. The palate is less complicated and the finish is maybe slightly below expectations, but none of it is bad. Rather than try to compare it unfavorably to a long list of peatier whiskies (especially single malts), which really isn't fair based on a marketing decision (the name of the whisky), I'll just say I think this is more complex, subtle, and even interesting than Compass Box's own Glasgow Blend, and I think that's really what the target was. But, ignoring the all malt vs. grain/malt blends question, the Glasgow Blend offers more peat, plenty of complexity, and a better price. I expect the Glasgow will be in my regular rotation. The Peat Monster will not. I would pick this up again, but it'll probably be a while.