Cadenhead's is one of those legendary independent bottlers or Scotland's finest single malts. I have to confess that i have never been fully drawn to their bottlings since they are not the best looking decanters and labels out there. As a fact, that is a violation to my first whisky rule, which is "if a whisky bottle is famous and ugly looking, i must buy it, since it has to be so good that it doesn't need marketing". (See "Laphroaig" for examples, lol) Well i got my hands on a very decent looking bottle of Cadenhead's, mostly because it was a single ex wine cask bottling of one of the most flavorfull malts of Scotland in my opinion: Auchroisk. This 16yo single wine cask, bottled at 54.3%abv, is one of only 246 ever made, and i have some expectations to it, but i never thought it was going to be THAT GOOD. On the nose, this is the most appealing fruity single malt ever. Starts with melon notes, tangerine, oranges, everything feels super fresh. Chocolate and hazelnuts, very creamy and thick. After a couple of minutes i get some rum & raisins; granma's perfume (very floral), plums and a pastry shop. On the palate, i get melon and papaya. Toffee and pepper. After a first sip, it changed into chocolate and strawberries. Aftertaste is quite the ride. It feels like drinking a slightly hot coca cola or Dr. Pepper. Farm fruits, red fruits and a hint of spiciness. It quickly transforms into dried fruits like almonds and hazelnuts. Chewing tobacco. Overall, i poured this on a very competitive cask strength whiskies tasting event and it was the unanimous winner of the night. Another superb expression from Auchroisk and my first Cadenhead's. I will surely look for more from them, specially this wine cask bottlings. My score for this amazing whisky is 97 over 100. Believe me, for the price it goes, this have no rival in the whisky world. Slàinte!