Nose: Vanilla, spice and stewed fruit (apples, walnuts and cinnamon). Caramel, licorice, orange peel, leather, and a trace of resinous woody smoke that is more like an old furniture smell than peat. There’s an earthy "clean-but-slightly-dusty-attic" quality to the nose. Palate: Spicy malt arrival, a little dry but with a thick texture and enough sherry on the sidelines to give it some bright sweetness. It develops more spice as it unfolds (cinnamon and cloves) together with a brown sugar. Water adds a gingery note to the list of spices and there are lots of dark fruity flavours (figs, dates, prunes). Some faint smoke or ash appears that suggests very old charred oak. Finish: Medium. Dark bitter chocolate with some oak spice, turning sweet in the aftertaste. This was blended from Speyside malts that were sent to repose in Spanish and American barrels in 1993. It was bottled in a limited edition of 400 in May 2017. It’s a blended Speysider of the dark-and-moody type and is a little like Tamdhu but earthier. If I was wagering on it I'd say it had at a good proportion of Glenfarclas. There’s nothing to dislike about it – it’s certainly not over oaked or sulphured – but for me it lacked a certain spark. I could, however, see others with different palate preferences finding it very enjoyable and worth the asking price. There is a second 2018 edition of Vega, a 43.1% abv expression that was bottled in January 2018 and blended from whiskies at least 40 years of age. I believe it is superior to this first edition, but I’ve not had the opportunity to taste it. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)