Nose: (neat) Cereals, dusty malt and an ethanol hit that tweaks the nose on first nosing. Vanilla, oak and pears in the back but it’s hard to get past the alcohol. It’s not tight, just intense. After a few minutes resting in the glass it calms down a bit and a deeper nosing is possible, at which point you get a lot of oak aromas. Nose: (watered) Dilution does not change the profile a great deal, but it does ease the alcohol intensity. The cereals are baked now rather than raw, and there are some banana aromas, but that’s the only significant change. Even with 30 minutes rest after dilution this did not present much that was new. Palate: (neat) Sweet cereals, oatmeal, vanilla pudding with sultanas and tinned fruit. Some pineapple chunks in milk chocolate in the development. The texture is full and oily but there is that heat again. It builds but it’s not exactly what I’d call spicy – it's just plain alcohol heat biting the tongue. Palate: (watered) Like the nose the palate is not significantly different when diluted. The arrival is a touch softer and more rounded, the mouth-feel is creamier and for a second or two you expect the heat of the neat nose to have been conquered. However suddenly it roars forward again and the mid to late development is exactly as before. Finish: (neat) Medium. Cereal and green apples fading into a slightly drying and astringent metallic aftertaste (cold overbrewed black tea?). You sense the tin that held the fruit pieces that were on the palate. Finish: (watered). Not a great deal of difference. The metallic quality is still there but it's more muted, and there is a lingering taste like oatmeal. The official Distiller review sums this up pretty well but I take issue with one specific point. For me this is not a balanced whisky, in fact I’d call it thin, unbalanced and showing poor integration, which for me are all big faults. My overall sensation is that that this expression was too soft and demure for the alcohol content. 55.8% abv is not that high and I’ve tasted many whiskies in the 60%+ abv range that have great balance. The problem here is that the alcohol dominates and there is not enough character of aroma or flavour to support it. I don't think this would have worked that well at a lower abv either - it's just not a great vatting, IMHO. Tasted from a 30ml sample. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)