Yet another sample dram from my gift set. An intriguing NAS juice from a mystery distiller on Islay...but who? Admittedly, I haven't enjoyed enough Islays in my so far brief malt tasting journey to hazard a guess. With no expert tasting notes from Distiller staff and scant user reviews, I was completely without any expectations, except that I figured it would be peaty, as an Islay, and expected it would be potent, given the 57.1% ABV. I don't even know what sort of cask finishing this whisky underwent. But, I went ahead and added about a 1/4 teaspoon of water to the 1 oz dram and let it rest for 15 minutes to open up. Pale in the glass with not much in the way of legs on swirling. On the nose, it is malty, with a sweet tart note akin to perhaps a Riesling. Also, a healthy dash of cigar ash asserts itself with an intensity equal to the other notes combined and then some. No sea spray, ships ropes, boat house, kelp, brine, or other nautical/maritime themes seemed to be present. On the palate, it is surprisingly sweet. Plenty of honey to offset some of the harsher qualities. Make no mistake, this stuff gets your attention. The cigar ash, although not as prominent on the palate as on the nose, is integrated throughout, from first introduction on the tip of the tongue to the fairly long finish. The heat of the high ABV coupled with the ash gives the impression of smoking a very peppery cigar. There is very little of the salt and iodine expected from an Islay, and none of the rubber or bandaid notes that often accompany Islay malts. However, after the finish subsided, I noticed upon exhaling through my nose that there was the distinct essence of Cephacol sore throat spray, giving it a medicinal quality at the very end. Overall impressions? Oddly enough, I rather liked it, although I doubt I would go through the pains of seeking it out. I don't think I could get it locally. I would give it 3.5 stars for being good at what it does, which is giving the impression of drinking a strong single malt while smoking a peppery cigar. It doesn't offer waves of morphing and changing layers of complexity like a good peaty Highland (think Talisker or Highland Park) or lots of maritime and medicinal notes of some of its Islay brethren. Very nice to sample, though.