Nose: Woody and fruity. Apples, pears and some herbal notes. Raisins and caramel toffee, vanilla. Quite a strong oak presence. After oxidizing, a lot more citrus fruit, spice and leather became apparent. This is pretty tight to start with and the nose needs time to relax. Palate: Malty and fruity arrival, rich but again very tight and uninvolving initially. As it develops and opens up citrus notes (particularly lemon flavours), herbal grassiness, green tea and some spice emerge. There is a background oakiness that verges on resinous and never really becomes soft. Finish: Medium/long. Drying and tannic. When I first tasted this I remember being very unimpressed. The nose seemed faint and uninteresting and the palate a general confusion of mild flavours. Over time, however, I came to appreciate it more. The nose improved a lot as it oxidized in the bottle and giving it quite a bit of time to rest in the glass always paid off. The nose gained a lot of fruitiness and became more aromatic in general, and the palate developed spicy, nutty notes and dried fruit that together with the original toffee character gave an impression of light fruit cake. A dash of water also helps to speed the opening process and soften the all-encompassing oaky nature. At 48% it can take a dash of water with no harm. This review was based on the old grey-brown box edition. The new one in purple livery is similar, but different, with more bright fruit and honeyed tones. This has an almost legendary status for some folks but I can't imagine why. It's a good whisky, but that's all. “Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)