Rating: 17/23 OK, I made it to tasting number 2400 on my spreadsheet surprisingly quickly after shifting to beer and trying some flights at breweries. So happy 2400 to me! I picked a 24 year old for number 24 and this was one of two I had available. N: This isn't the most mature, but it's sweet with malt and worthy grain. Some caramel and faint vegetal and tar along with the wort. Very faint though. There's also something very faintly fruity, but it's hard to place. Mostly, this smells a bit young, but sweet and approachable. Going in for the first sip, I get a lot more wood and spices. OK, this actually does have some age. P: This isn't as sweet as I'd expected. I like the sweetness, which veers into maple syrup territory. I also like the woody maturity, but the wood is a bit on the flat side. The spices have a hint of chili pepper along with ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper. Faint floral flavors come off of the vanilla in here. Some white pepper as well. F: Vanilla, spices. Hints of sweet malt, but the bitter wood is a bit stronger. - Conclusion - I like this. It isn't blowing my mind, but it's quite good. Somehow, it has both the good and bad qualities of both old and young scotches. It's kind of like someone blended old and young together - that would really explain this profile. I'm finding this to be competitive with Longmorn 13 (2005) (Gordon & MacPhail) (17/23). I'm inclined to give this the win. Surprisingly, this side-by-side does not win against Deanston 19 (1994) (Cadenhead's) (15/23). The Deanston is shockingly more tropical and sweet. I recall the Deanston suffering from too much burn, but maybe I've just been tasting things with too much burn right now. I also didn't think of the Deanston as particularly sweet. Maybe the air has helped it too. I was thinking of giving this an 18, but now I'm not so sure. I think I'll need to try this again. Coming back the next day, I'm liking the maturity here. It still has some alcohol bite though and isn't super strong. It tastes like a pretty standard old scotch, but it isn't really standing out too much. I was thinking an 18, but as I make my way through this glass I'm coming back around to a 17.