Nose (neat): Sweet light smoke, pine resin, herbal cough drops, green vegetal and earthy notes. There are fragrant fruity aromas as well (pear, stewed apple with just a pinch of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg) but it was particularly tight when neat. Nose (reduced): With a few drops of water the profile stays similar to the neat nose but there is a noticeable softening of the resinous quality and it gains balance. Over time in the glass the watered sample displayed honey and become more coherent. Palate (neat): Soft but hefty arrival with powdered ginger and white pepper. Very malty with vanilla notes prominent. The development brings out a smoky presence backing dried mixed fruits and nuts, anise, white pepper, cereal and oak spices. The texture is lightly creamy and the whisky has a soft, warming, blanketing quality. Palate (reduced): The smoke is much more immediate and defined when watered but the arrival becomes hotter and spicier, a little too much so for my palate and overall the whisky loses complexity. Arguably it also gains balance but it is an homogenizing balance that sacrifices detail. Finish (neat): Medium/long. Gristy cereal, malt and mild smoke fading out to a resinous aftertaste. Finish (reduced): Long. Smoke is more apparent but a tart, almost bitter note surfaces and stays into the aftertaste. The resinous wood quality is much reduced. Tasted from a sample generously provided by @DrRHCMadden I was very much looking forward to this well regarded and rated whisky. Normally when I receive a batch of samples I start at the shallow end of the pool but in this case I had to dive in from the high board. I split the sample into two and tasted one neat and the other with just a few drops of water, both over an extended period so I could see how each responded to time in a glass. The nose and finish are much improved by dilution but the palate does not fare so well. This whisky is a bit fussy with water but I would still recommend just a few drops. It is certainly an interesting whisky and right from the outset it seemed both un-Scottish but also unlike most other Australian whiskies. Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of Limeburners and there is only one expression of theirs that I have thought to be really good, the Director’s Cut from a few years back (muscat cask matured, I think). This Darkest Night is certainly the closest I’ve tasted in quality to that, but it has a different flavour profile. This is not what I’d call a complex whisky. It has some great points but it’s an array of a few very nice aspects rather than a forest or aromas and flavours, which betrays its comparative youth. I’d love to taste this if they could put the barrel in a cool warehouse and let it sit for another 10 years. Tasted from a 30ml sample “Good”: 84/100 (3.75 stars)