N: Smoke, salty sea spray, and sour fruit. Lemon and other citrus. There's some kind of funky exotic fruit in it that I can't place (or remember the name of right now) - it's vaguely tropical, but also very earthy and mineral, while remaining somehow within the fruit family of scents. The smoke elements are also mineral and chalky, so maybe I'm getting some crossover - I'm not complaining. The smoke feels like something all HP's own - it's not Islay and it's not Campbelltown. It's like fresh cut peat bog (I imagine) that was only lightly smoked - the smoke is there, but it's mingled with wet earth, dried leaves and grass, hay, maybe some herbs, etc. Under those layers you find dried peach and pear, fresh apricot, and a fresh cut vegetable sort of scent. There's an ethanol that doesn't smell like much, but has a noticeable numbing effect. P: Rich and heavy, oily and coating. Sweet with vanilla and brown sugar leading the way. An earthy and vegetal peat flavor hits the sides of the tongue. Running a quick breath over it while on the tongue occasionally releases a short but intense blast of peat smoke that (now) reminds of Islay whiskies. Sweet, sweet, sweet. And yet, not unbalanced - it somehow works. Caramel drenched dark bread with vanilla icing. Milk chocolate and roast coffee. There's definitely some fresh cut vegetables in there, which seems like it shouldn't work with the sweet, but it does. The smoke and peat somehow feel like a bridge between the flavors. Finish flashes some spice, but is otherwise kind of unremarkable. Spice is baking spice with moderate heat - noticeable, but nothing memorable. It's cut with sweet honey and also that vegetable bitterness - like brussels sprouts or something along those lines. And then there's a lingering saltiness that just hangs in there. And hangs in there. And hangs... This is great and also kind of weird. It's like pouring (smoked) maple syrup on a plate that's 70% vegetables and the rest is fruit. It's sweet, vegetal, fruity, smoky. It's really a flavor combination that probably only exists in whisky, and maybe only this whisky. And yet, it works. I guess that's what it takes to make a classic - it's good and you can't get this taste anywhere else. I do think it's a touch overpriced - would be killer at $40-45, but $55 has more competition. Still, looking forward to the 18 year, whenever I get to it.