It’s been ages since I gave something 5 stars. I had this blind…so, the 5 stars are truly unbiased. Before we begin…. One of my theories ( I have a lot) is that we as a human race initially survived because we were able to have fermented foods. Now, before you write me off as a nut job, hear me out. Imagine the first humans. It’s just them, and a bunch of wild animals that are stronger, faster, and meaner. Yes, we’re way smarter. But, the very first humans probably had to use more survival skills than smarts. Now, come winter, how are these humans going to survive? Hunting will be a challenge and infrequent. I think a good portion of their diet, in between hunting, had to be fruits…which probably were spoiled or a bit rotten at this point in the season. Rotten fruit is fermented, and a byproduct is alcohol. So, our early ancestor’s ability to survive was in great part due to their ability to have fermented foods, and alcohol. Unlike some of their bigger competition back then. That brings us to today. My wife can’t have alcohol at all. She’s severely allergic to it. Thankfully, her lack of that enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase) wasn’t an issue for our ancestors. But, where she comes in for today is my asking her to pour me a sample blind. @ScotchingHard was extremely generous to send several unicorn samples….each and every one are hard to find, above my paycheck samples. So, how do I choose? I ask the alcohol allergic wife to randomly pick a sample, and pour it into a glencairn. If it’s over 43%, I ask her to add a few drops water. I’m so glad she bypassed that evolutionary necessity for alcohol dehydrogenase…because that means I can have all these unicorns to myself. Aroma of this is freakin hard to pin down. It starts fruity, then a bit farm-y. Some peat. Clearly, this doesn’t want you to rush things through , but rather sit back and savor it. At first sip…it’s too complex. Fruits like apricots, but a hint of smoke. A bit later, the peat makes an appearance. It’s now full onslaught of peaches and peat. Wow…this is absolutely amazing. I’m guessing it’s a well aged Laphroaig. Or a blend of Laphroaig and Clyneish. But, it doesn’t have that medicinal peat…instead more of a smoky peat. Maybe a mix of Lagavulin, Laphroaig, and Clynelish. An extremely well aged blend of those three…but I know @ScotchingHard didn’t send any top shelf Compass Box style blends….they were all single malts. Now the palette changes again after it’s sitting out …more waxy and smoky, less fruity. This is my WHISKEY OF THE YEAR 2021. I don’t even know what it is, but it’s the single most complex whiskey I’ve had in years. Just to set a baseline, I took the best whiskey I had on my shelf that’s already open—-an Amrut ex-rye single cask, to compare against this. This blew the Amrut out. No comparison. Okay…after 60 minutes of cherishing this slowly, while reading this week’s Barron’s, I finally asked my wife what did she pour. BRORA 37YR. I sincerely want to thank @ScotchingHard …it’s really rare for anyone to share a pour of this unicorn. It’s way above my pay grade, and something I’d never purchase at this price (years ago, I had one pour of a Brora, but that I was able to afford —was about 10-15 years ago). Fitting Christmas pour…hands down an amazing whiskey. It’s hard to justify the $1200 price tag, but if ever an opportunity presents itself, this is a bucket-list pour.