The color is deep amber. The nose is an impression in itself: A light, but consistent rain is falling as I am walking through a woodland setting sometime during the Lenten season. It's one of those existentially rich, pensive moments outdoors where my being and the earth's feel especially uniform to one another. I come upon an ancient, gnarly evergreen, and at its base on the exposed roots there is a bright green tuft of moss. I stoop down to the ground and gently smell the simple scene: the rain-soaked moss, earthy and storied; the old evergreen, sweet, resinous, and vibrant. With time, the arboreal nose evolves into a more classically maritime one. Notes include worn leather, sultanas, tree sap, peat, black peppercorns, balsamic reduction, onion jam, maduro tobacco leaves, and Japanese pine incense. The mouthfeel is balanced, the oak tannins and the oiliness working together seamlessly with the peat flavors. The finish is a wave of salinity, dried chile árbol, fig preserves, and plum skin. When the finish diminishes at long last, sweet peat and light smoke remain on the palate. This malt is a paradox: austere as much as it is mundane. It is definitely one of the most special bottles in my collection.