Nose: Malty depth. There's a sweetness present, but it's beautifully integrated in with the fruit components also present in the glass. More plum than apricot - perfectly ripe dark stone fruit drupe . Lightly macerated strawberries and black pepper. Maybe a touch of balsamic vinegar. There's oak popping up (as it should with this kind of age on it). Almost some slightly under-rip banana. There's a ton of great fruit, but none of it takes center stage. Everything is so beautifully integrated. Lovely. Some vanilla, some cream. There's also some herbs, almost like thyme and basil. In the background, some super-high cacao dark chocolate. Raspberry jam filled truffle. Warm baking spices abound. Palate: The malt character is much more present on the palate, while the fruits step back a little. The oak is the center to this part of the experience, with tannic astringency, but not so much so that it robs the rest of the experience. The oak brings that herbal quality out with it. Fruit character leans toward less sweet. The malt is starting to present a beautiful cashew/peanut-like thread. This is brighter than I expected without seeming brittle. Limes. Key lime pie. The oak gives this a zingy pepper-y quality with a moderate density. Finish: The finish begins by filling in with oak. Some burnt match pops in and then fades very quickly, and then strawberry, banana, and thyme come in. Some salinity begins to reveal itself after a while. This finish takes it's time, slowly fading away and leaving behind that beautiful oak backbone. With a few drops of water: The oak wakes up on the nose. Where there was delicate balance before, now the oak has stepped forward a little. Berries, bananas, and sweetened whipped cream. The palate gets a touch more black pepper, and there's a slightly sweet bell pepper vegetal thing happening. The finish gets a touch shorter and less present. Other notes: This is now the oldest whisk(e)y I've ever tasted, received from a friend in the most lopsided sample trade ever. That there are no details about what went into this forced me to start from scratch: without suggestion, what am I really experiencing? Is this good? Great? Bad? What am I truly tasting? I knew this wasn't a super proofy pour, but I certainly would've guessed higher than 45.1%, which I'd attribute simply to the age. Oak and astringency can present as "heat", and that's likely what's happening here. This also presented a lot less dense, rich, and syrupy than I would've expected, but it's also incredibly complex. The presence and complexity demand your investment and attention - we're here to taste, not merely sip. This is one of those rare occasions where price plays a factor in my overall rating, simply because the price tag is so high. That being said, as I've been typing out these "other notes", I've gone back and added more and more to the tasting notes above - this is an exercise in brilliant complexity and balance, without being dense, cloying, or overly intense. A beautiful pour if you can ever get one. Maybe just try to convince someone to trade you a sample for something from your stash.