Nose : Very strong oak hits you right off the bat, delving further in you will find caramel apple and dried fruits. Sherry. Palate : dark fruits up front, a bit of vanilla and cinnamon as you get further in. Ends with a bit of a bitter oakiness. Considering this is obe of my first Speyside's i don't have much of a reference to go off of. You can definitely taste the youth. For $40 at total wine this is a decent single malt. I prefer this to Glenfiddich 12 for example. Not something id buy again (mainly because i don't have a Total Wine near me), but overall not bad. Edit : Haven't gone back to this whisky since this review but having more experience with sherried whiskies I would say this is definitely a bottom tier offering (Chill filtered, caramel coloring, 40%abv). Not bad but not near as good as others I've had.