2019 bottling. A pleasant golden straw with orange hue. Medium weight. Peat controls the nose, but tempered with subtle fruits lingering in the margins waiting to reward those with perseverance. A bit grapey with touches of vanilla. Iodine teases, but remains restrained. Chestnut. Honeydew. Heather. Not overpowering, but not captivating either. Smoke opens - notably more ashy than meaty. Sweet sherry and malt rise up, then are beaten back by the phenols. Cantaloupe. Honeysuckle. Biscuit. Cigarette smoke returns and lingers, which is likely a negative. There are other smokes that I enjoy much more (bring on the applewood!) I had some unfounded optimism that I was surely to "discover" the ideal highball scotch when I purchased this - in my mind's eye: a balanced yet wildly affordable blend in which the peat affirmed one's manliness and the "scotchy" origins while the sherry and more genteel components made it refreshing and quaffable at any time of day. In short, I'm not sure my vision had any realistic basis whatsoever, and this bottle's failure to meet those expectations is 99.5% not the scotch's fault. The peat is far too pronounced for me to have, as yet, skillfully render an elegant and effervescent cocktail. In a stirred alternative it may shine, and assuredly as a neat pour I have few reservations for the price. In the recent past when I could find Laphroaig 10 for $35, I would see little rationale to own this bottle. But while the tariff effect is still in play preventing any single malt competition worth mentioning for less than $50, this bottle knocks the socks off most peated blends. Clean, cohesive, balanced, and little one might find objectionable beyond the cigarette note. You could do much worse.