All neat all the way. Nose is oceany with a lot of tang. notes go from an initial hit of honey to a lot of peaty tang to a long, slow smoked meat. Not a ton of burn, extremely drinkable. I've given up on having a favorite that is "limited edition" (or worse gone for ever... ahem... nikka...), so I think I can call this my favorite scotch without hesitation. Not cheap but not bank-breaking compared to other whiskey's half as good as this, and my local non-specialty store has a few bottles tucked to sell me at retail in the event of a scotch related dinner party emergency.