Another Diageo Classic Malt, and another fairly solid, if not overly inspired, result. The nose is light but sweet; honeydew leading pears, with a hint of vanilla bean and a whiff of windblown field flowers. The palate doesn't offer much surprise after the nose, giving a creamy, rich, warm, honey coating which has just the slightest amount of stone fruits and the very, very slightest hint of anisette. Finish is smooth, creamy and short; a sweet taste for a few seconds before showing just a bit of woody astringency and then drying to clean nothingness. This started out as a 4, and contrary to all of my notes that I change mid-review, ended a 3. The more I got into this, the more one-note it became. Time and/or water doesn't change a thing, and while what's presented is pretty good, it's not better than average by any stretch. If you like smooth, creamy, sweet and non-challenging whisky, this is your ticket. But, as this is clearly channeling Irish overtones, might I suggest a bottle of Knappogue 12yr instead? The Irish, after all, have a lot more experience making Irish whisky.