Nose: Light apple and pear, peach, malted milk powder, lots of vanilla and a floral note with solvent overtones. Palate: Soft but bright and shimmering on the arrival with apple, melon, gristy barley and a touch of ginger. It suddenly develops notes of apricot and a honeyed sweetness in the mid palate and then just as quickly it transitions to the late palate where some ash shows up. The texture is fine and it has a little weight. Finish: Medium/Short. The palate falls off quickly leaving residual fruity sweetness marred only by a distinct ethanol intrusion. Summer whisky. Light, breezy and uncluttered. If you don’t like it you’d call it simplistic but it does have a bright, unassuming charm. It reminds me a little of The Deveron, Glen Grant and several other affordable fruity Speyside single malts, but notably when they are young. It also reminds me a little of some young Australian NAS whiskies aged exclusively in bourbon casks. This malt does not try to hide its youth but instead celebrates it, which is fine, and the blender has filled it out with heaps of fragrant vanilla derived from what I think were pretty good casks, including some first fill. Adding water makes it almost absurdly soft and easy to drink while also amplifying the ginger spice note a touch and bringing the ashy quality more to the front. I did not try it in a highball but I think it would be perfectly suited to mixing in long, cooling drinks. Overall I enjoyed this malt and I would not turn down a free pour (thanks @DrRHCMadden for the sample) but I would not buy it and I can’t justify giving it 3 stars. It’s an acceptable “average” grade whisky, but not a recommendation at the price. Tasted from a 30ml sample “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)