Pale straw in the glass. Diminutive, neat pearls form within a minute and barely climb the walls before joining in a small, delicate lace. A swirl coats thinly and immediately starts to fall, first as a circle of small bubbles and then eventually as a cascade of larger tendrils. After 40 seconds most of them have reached the base, but there are quite a few stragglers left behind, just hanging out. Nose was a surprise for me, and blind I would have picked this for a lightly peated Islay. There's dry hay, brine and a sweet funk that with more time and attention moves toward vanilla clotted cream and grilled pears, and then salted almond skins and melon balls. Where I nose this makes a lot of difference - deep in the middle brings hay and vanilla, on the outside near the top brings sweet melon and at the bottom just inside the rim shows the vanilla and pears. Other drams have the same trait, but few have been as pronounced and varied for me as this. Palate is light and creamy, with sweet vanilla crawling up the tongue and cooling the gums as it runs front to back. Pears with the skin on, honeydew and then hazelnuts in the middle do a clean handoff to oak tannins that are drying yet smooth and close oh so cleanly. This is easy, smooth and inviting. Which means this isn't complicated, and it isn't deep, plus it isn't easy to find, and it isn't inexpensive (at least in the US). But it is absolutely worth seeking out and trying. If I were in the UK this would be a house pour, and the first thing I shared with people new to Scotch. As it stands now, I'll cherish this bottle, share it with a few dear friends who I want to nudge further down the rabbit hole of this expensive hobby, and then probably never see it on the shelf again. I guess after 22 years of looking that I can be happy to have finally found one, and happier still that meeting one of my heroes wasn't a disappointment.