If Jim Beam attempted to make a Highland scotch, it might taste like this. That's not a bad thing: It's got a little attitude even if it backs away from the fight, has a vaguely leathery/rubberband-y chalk outline of peat around an oily, sugary/caramel core, and with a distinctly tea-like aftertaste. Imagine a step up from a Johnny Walker Red and a very slightly muddier/duller Johnny Walker 12, which is all to say this tastes like a good Scotch that's been sitting around a glass with an ice cube a little too long. What's the notch just above "drinkable in a pinch"? That's our little friend here.