Nose: When nosed neat there are dark, rich aromas of dried fruit, waxed wooden furniture, old leather and pipe tobacco. In the background these are supported by sweeter fruity aromas and orange liqueur. With water the nose is sweeter, fruiter, fresher and quite delightful. Palate: Neat, the arrival is big, hefty and full of treacle tarts, date pudding, raisins and black coffee. Some orange and hot spice notes appear in the development but they are unusual and have an accompanying tannic, iron-like taste. It’s not unpleasant and @DrRHCMadden described this in his review below as being like an old school water fountain, which is bang on target. For me it brought to mind tasting “the waters” at Bath (which are iron oxide heavy). The alcohol presence is intense and makes the mouth water, and the texture is full. Dilution makes the palate much more gentle and brings out a lot of sweet citrus and white grape notes. It also tames the tannic/metallic character to the point where it is almost undetectable and transforms into a spicy ginger flavour. The texture becomes creamier with watering. Finish: Medium. Dark chocolate, orange zest and a drying aftertaste which fades to a pleasant sweetness. Dilution shortens the finish and emphasizes citrus sweetness even more. Glendullan is not a well known distillery as most of its output goes into Johnnie Walker blends. However it is also widely sold as a single malt under the Singleton brand, and there is also a Glendullan "Flora and Fauna" release. All of these single malts share a characteristic grassy, floral style. However this whisky is entirely unlike any Singleton expression I’ve ever tasted (thank goodness) which all comes down to the casking. This whisky was obtained by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society after 10 years in ex-bourbon and was then re-racked by them into a first-fill ex-sauternes barrique where it rested for another 2 years. The out-turn was 232 bottles at a cask-strength of 56.1%, un-chillfiltered and un-coloured. Personally I preferred this with a teaspoon of water as it mellows and integrates the profile very pleasantly, but you could argue that dilution highlights the sweet wine cask notes to the point that they take over the experience. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)