This is a whisky of two halves -- specifically, Lore upfront and Quarter Cask on the finish. It starts off with lovely aromas of shellac and stewed fruits that continue into the same rich fruity flavors of the Lore, but then instead of the Lore's long coda of dates and figs you get the short, drying tannis of those little quarter casks. By coincidence, I tasted a sample of the Quarter Cask for the first time a day after opening the 1815, so I was immediately able to make the connection. My initial thought was that this is a similar recipe to the Lore but with younger Quarter Cask spirit replacing some of the former's older stock, but there's no mention of the smaller barrels in the marketing material. The flavor profile is also more disjointed than Lore and while a little water brings a considerable amount of focus to the taste, it's nevertheless the first bottle of Laphroaig I've bought that I wouldn't buy again. It's not a bad whisky, just completely redundant when you can buy Lore for the same price.