50%, non-chill filtered, no added colour Nose: Very fruity — white wine, preserved pears and peaches in syrup, chamomile tea, fragrant wildflower honey, and oat biscuits leaning toward yeast and fresh bread. Palate: A distinctly white chocolate-forward experience, perhaps with a pinch of salt. This is followed by acidic white wine with plenty of fruit, finishing with honeyed oatmeal in both flavour and texture. With water: Even fruitier — think oily, thick, fresh white wine. It’s taken me about half this bottle and nearly a year to understand the hype around this whisky, beyond it being the distillery’s first 10-year release. Before sitting down to write this, I planned to say it wasn’t for me. But time and air have really brought it into its own. I still prefer my Ardnamurchan with some peat — there’s something about that sweet pine smoke that speaks to me. I’m hopeful the two different batches of cask strength I’ve been holding onto won’t disappoint. That said, this is an excellent whisky. At bottle strength, it has an almost dessert-like white chocolate character; with water, it transforms into a fruity, substantial white wine profile. That versatility makes it excellent value and a very good dram. I’d love to get my hands on the new core range 10-year to see how it compares — especially to check for that peat note I enjoy so much.