Rating: 16/23 N: Smoky and savory, with some earthy spices. It's also sweet, but those scents really form a layer on top. Ah, the roast pork loin comes out, with plenty of black pepper and a touch of salt. There's sort of a green twig smell as well. This is interesting and a bit funky and is definitely more on the savory side. Something smells a touch oily, but oddly nothing really strikes me as peaty. P: So I think I'm tasting peat immediately. It's kind of smoky, but I get more of an herbal, slightly vegetal, profile atop roast pork loin with a drizzle of fat, plenty of black pepper, and some salt. Tasting more, some clear fruit broadsides me. It's like bing cherry mixed with blackberry and some orange. Hints of strawberry and possibly raspberry as well. It's a bit blunt. Faint minerals, but not much. The fruit's sweetness grows. There's a small amount of malt sweetness, but it's hard to catch. A tiny bit of cacao and the faintest grade A maple syrup. The herbs mix with the black pepper. Perhaps faint rainbow and white pepper as well. After a few sips, that bourbon barrel vanilla and spice starts growing on me. The cinnamon really stands out more. F: A thin smoky layer over herbs and various peppers with just a little pork loin (sans fat). There's a bit of bing cherry and blackberry, but they're faint. A little malt and grain in the background, but not much. - Conclusion - This is a bit odd, but generally good. A bit out of whack at times, but still enjoyable. That said, it's certainly not amazing. Is this better than BenRiach The Twelve (14/23)? Yes. Does it surpass The Smoky Ten (16/23)? I'm thinking yes as well. How does it do compared with Amrut Peated (17/23)? The Amrut is funkier and displays more definite peat, but if I get over the peat and focus on the core flavor here I might give this a slight win. It isn't really reasonably to compare this with Glen Grant 18 (18/23).... but I did, and I found them to be quite competitive. The Glen Grant is mellower and more mature, but they both have that oiliness and bits of fruit and complexity around them. Switching back to this, I find that it burns a bit more and its less complex. I think that the win belongs to the Glen Grant. This is still competitive with Amrut Peated, but I think that an 18 is out of the question now. Laphroaig 10 (17-18/23) also clearly crushes this with its immense complexity. This is in the 16 to 17 range and it's definitely a tough call. This is better than The Smoky Ten, but how much better is it? Is it enough better to earn a 17? I don't quite think so.