The aroma is sweet and filled with oloroso sherry notes, raisins, red berries, almonds, malt, apple, and chocolate. When tasting, it immediately hits you with red fruit, followed by raisins and sherry. There’s nutty and fried red fruit hints as well. As it develops further, it hits you with malt and dried fruit forward sherry with some oaky undertones. It’s like a trail mix with dried grapes and cranberries, almonds, and cereal. As it finishes off, it leaves raisin, prune, sherry, peppercorn, cinnamon, and clove with a hint of chocolate and caramel. The mothfeel of the whisky is light, but with the lightest hint of oiliness. Overall, I beleive that this is superior to Monkey Shoulder, being much less musty while having most of the same positive flavors. It’s nowhere near Aberlour 12, but is the closest you can get while spending close to half as much.