Rating: 16/23 N: Spicy, a sort of dry oloroso waxy lemon tartness, some faint funky malt that's a little dirty like it's still young. This isn't a super complex or enjoyable nose. P: Quite spicy. Pepper with cinnamon and some clove. There's a sweeter maltiness with some red fruit mixed with grassiness, a hint of waxy lemon, and a some rich nuttiness in the buckwheat range that eventually develops. Perhaps a faint faint farmyard funk comes out of the grass but I'm really reaching here. There's a bit of a bitter smokiness and perhaps just a hint of mildewed wood. It makes me think of Glen Grant 26 (Carn Mor independent bottling) because of the spiciness over an otherwise fairly round layer, but I find the Glen Grant to be much fuller with some better developed and balanced character, more fruit, and more complexity. The Glen Grant just tastes more mellow and mature. F: Faint waxy lemon with hints of buckwheat nuttiness at points. That smoky bitterness hangs lightly until the conclusion. - Conclusion - This is a good $70 whisky, but it isn't worth anywhere near $150. It's very enjoyable, but there's not a ton of complexity or hedonism here. I currently have the Glen Grant at a 17, which seems about fair. I'd been thinking that this was in the 15 to 17 range, but not quite as good as the Glen Grant, so I'm going with a 16 here. For another point of comparison, I poured a few milliliters of Tullibardine 25 (Cadenhead's independent bottling) and found that the Tullibardine was more complex, mellow, and rich, with a nice long-lasting finish. It was without doubt the best of the three. This is very close to Glen Grant 18, which I'm thinking is a 16 (with a chance of moving up to a 17). Loch Lomond 12 is also competitive with this. Resilient 15 is substantially better, so I don't think that this can hit 18. Still, a 17 seems plausible. In the end though, I'm going with a 16.