I finally took some time yesterday morning to sit down with this one and give it a proper go (I’ve been working nights the last 2 weeks due to a safety inspection at my work- I don’t make it a habit of waking up and getting tipsy. In case you were wondering, lol). This bottle was offered up as a sample for our tour group by Ryan, via me. Tomintoul advertises themselves as the gentle dram. This peated version is something they do a couple times a year to fill out their portfolio, I think. I get the whole gentle dram when it comes to sherried or even ex-bourbon Speyside style malts. A gentle peat whisky seems out of place, IMO. Just like this bottle... The nose is quite heavily peated and smoked. If there are some gentle fruit notes intended they were overpowered by the peat smoke for sure. It smells a tad sweet, but not overly so. The palate is also wrecked by the smoke- it’s heavy. There’s also a metallic flavor that just doesn’t meld well with anything. I wouldn’t call it harsh- just weird. The finish is medium length, a bit peppery with another over abundance of smoke. My first thought was that this was a mediocre whisky with artificial smoke added for effect. I know it wasn’t made this way, it’s just the impression I got. Overall, I wouldn’t buy another bottle of this and I really don’t want to finish what I have. It’s not offensive and worthy of a drain pour- I just don’t have much desire to drink any more of it. 2.25 stars.