Island whiskies (Orkney, Arran, Skye, Mull) are the best. At their worst they are still good. This is a hill I will die on whilst drinking the last of my @cascode box of goodies. Thank you once again Sir. N: Strangely light and bright for a nose heavy in slightly sweet smoke. The smoke is a a tarry-oak with just the lightest mulch-earthy lift. The sweetness is red berries, raisins, and just a hint preserved lemon, maybe? I’ve sat with this for going on twenty minutes and I think there is a salty-minerality and creaminess like churned honey too this nose too. It’s wonderful. P: A powerful wave of warm smoke opens things up. The smoke is slightly meaty, slightly peppery, and with an undertone of stoney-minerality. Creosote-iodine is lovely. Oak adds a tannic astringency and is followed by brine and sweet lemon. The fruits are a little understated but a raspberry juiciness and apple crunch is just about there. F: Medium-long. Smoke hangs on and peppery-oaky warmth hangs on longer. The sweetness of the berries is present without the fruit flavours. Fairly lack lustre, but perfectly pleasant. The great @cascode has a great run down of what is in this liquid and how it was made. It seems to me like an unnecessary experiment. I don’t find too much added save for some sweetness from the wine barrels, but some of the malt that I remember from the L10 is lost. To be honest there seems to be little difference from the L10 and my same criticism applies: this is just a little to simple for a whisky that is expertly made, but seems like it should deliver just a touch more. Something, somewhere, is just missing. Still, lovely, enjoyable, and appreciated; but not worth the exorbitant price. Stick with the L10, or for a fraction more; get the L18. Distiller whisky taste #255 [Pictured here with some ‘Sputnik’ aragonite from Tazouta in Morocco. At Tazouta, aragonite occurs as floaters in a layer of red clay of Permian to Triassic age. Typically dozens of pseudohexagons radiate from a common centre, forming round to oblong clusters with the reddish-brown colour from inclusions of iron oxides.] Tobermory running scores: Tobermory 12: 4/5 Ledaig 10: 3.75/5 Ledaig 18: 4.5/5 Ledaig 2008 12 G&M Hermitage Cask: 3.75/5