Rating: 14/23 N: Waxy lemon peel, faint spices, occasional hints of apricot coming out of some malt that has a light caramel scent to it. A bit of papery vanilla. On the bad side, there's a bit of meat and an ethanol bite, but there isn't too much, so it's acceptable. This nose isn't bad, but it isn't terribly encouraging. P: OK, this is better than I'd expected. There's a nectar sweetness coming out of the maltiness, which leads into some prickly but restrained spices that have a nice sweetness that pair with the malt. Aside from malt, there's lemon in the nectar, which is a little bit waxy. Digging into the malt, I do get bits of toasty grain, but the malt buries most of them. Some sweet, juicy fuji apple does come out of the malt though. A bit of clean creek water, but this isn't overly watery. Some vanilla eventually comes out of that creek water as well and takes over the palate. I do get a bit of harshness coming along with the spice, but at least it's paired with a flavor that explains the burn and it isn't as bad as the harshness in Compass Box Artist's Blend. F: Waxy lemon with papery vanilla over a mellow, sweet malt nectar backing. It's not overly complex, nor is it all that powerful, but the flavors are nice and go together, and the finish does linger for a while. - Conclusion - This is quite a nice budget scotch. It seems better balanced than Compass Box Artist's Blend (13/23), with a bit more going on than Compass Box Glasgow Blend (14/23). That said, the bolder flavors of the Glasgow Blend, especially the grater smoke and spice, really liven it up in a way that I wish this emulated. This is an easy sipper, despite its bit of harsh heat. I'd love a bit of a smoky note to this, as well as a little cherry, but I appreciate the mildly complex, approachable profile that they're going for. This doesn't have the same maturity as Knappogue Castle 12 (15/23) does, nor does it have the same nice apricot flavor, but there is a nicer complexity here that follows a traditional scotch (speyside) profile. The Knappogue Castle is surprisingly fuller though. I think of the Knappogue Castle as a high 15, so this could still be a 15, but the Knappogue Castle does seem to be better. To double-check, Kavalan Distillery Select (batch 1) (16/23) is bolder with all sorts of extra barrel and tropical fruit flavors. This is more elegant, but the Kavalan really is more decadent and clearly the better dram. In comparison, I really do taste the alcohol here. For one last double-check, Loch Lomond 12 (16/23) is very different and vastly more funky, but it's also so much tastier than this is. I'm thinking that this is clearly better than the Artist's Blend, but I'm not so sure that it's better than the Glasgow Blend. I'm inclined to say that it's a tad better, but not much. Meanwhile, the Knappogue Castle is definitely better than this. I'm looking at either a high 14 or a low 15 for this. It's quite good for a budget scotch - one of the best, actually - but it isn't going to stand up to most of the age-statement single malts. Unfortunately, I'm leaning toward a 14 here. I'm not confident that this is better than the Glasgow Blend and I haven't found anything higher than a 14 that this seemed on the same level as.