Rating: 16/23 This 1997 vintage is number 1997 on my count-up to my 2000th alcohol reviewed! I know pretty much nothing about this distillery, but I haven't tried them before, so I'm excited to give this a shot. N: Light with faint orchard fruits and some funk. There's some seriously roasted meat going on, with a charred exterior (though it isn't actually smoky). The longer I smell it, the more I just get meat. This is not a very appealing nose. I do eventually get some toasty grain and light maltiness, but that meat kind of smooshes everything. P: It has a grain burn (surprising for a malt), but the proof is pretty high after all. There's a nice sweetness like orchard fruits (mild pear and apple, possibly with white peach) with toasted light malt and a touch milk, but not really a milky texture. There's a bit of still funk, but no youthful distillate flavor. There's also a bit of something floral that isn't quite vanilla. Hints of roasted meat, but they're nice, unlike the oppressive character they leave on the nose. I also eventually get touches of cinnamon and faint ginger. And very faint numbing clove. This is a good palate - and it's certainly much better than the nose. It does a good job of balancing typical scotch fruit, grain, and funk. F: This is more on the funky side, with some kind of dirty dishwater flavor. There are still lingering hints of orchard fruits and toasty grain, but it's all fairly muddled. This is a real step down from the palate. - Conclusion - There's a good palate here sandwiched between a bad nose and seriously underwhelming finish. Despite the failings here though, I would put this above Cadenhead's Deanston 19 (1994). It isn't far ahead though. Signatory's Inchmurrin 17 (1996) strikes me as lagging behind this for sure. This tastes pretty competitive with Loch Lomond 12 (16/23), though I'm thinking that the Loch Lomond is probably a hair ahead of this. This is going to be a high 15 or low 16. I'm thinking that this is actually better than the Deanston and quite competitive with the Loch Lomond, so I'm giving it a 16. Actually, after a final sip from the Deanston, I think that this is still kind of in its range. I'm giving this a 15 - but it's still clearly better than the Inchmurrin. As a sanity check, Bladnoch 17 California Red Wine Cask Finish (17/23)...is actually kind of in the range of this. As a final final sanity check, Highland Park 16 Wings Of The Eagle (17/23) seems a bit better than this, but it isn't blowing it away. OK, I think that's enough for me to bump this up to a 16.