Rating: 14/23 N: A spicy heat with some clean malt and funky grain. Something a bit starkly bitter and then hints of tropical fruit and soap. P: They advertised smoke on the bottle, but I'm not really getting it. There's a lot of worty grain flavor going on here, with a surprising amount of heat and accompanying spices. There's some malty sweetness, but not a lot. There's some nuance to that worty grain, but it's not a delightful flavor. A little orange zest. Overall, this is kind of boring and also flawed. It has a very forgettable highland scotch profile. It needs more malt, some extra flavors, and less heat. I think that this would have been better bottled at a higher proof and the added water brought out the grain and made it more bitter. F: It's what I expected from the palate. Not a lot going on. The grain is still there. - Conclusion - I'm pretty underwhelmed by this. I can drink it fine, but it's not actually enjoyable. It's a flawed and generic scotch. This actually tastes like something I could believe was distilled by an enthusiast at home. For the rating, I'm thinking a 12 to 14. Giving this some nice swishing and air in my mouth, more of the sweet malty aromas come out, so I think not a 12. I'm thinking a 14.