Nose: Lightly fruity, cereal snack bar, butterscotch, toffee, a touch of smoke and hints of oak. Palate: A soft arrival of a largely cereal character, which develops a warm sweetness and fruity notes - orange and apricot, mainly - and also chocolate, milk coffee and roasted nuts. The texture is good with a slightly waxy feel and there is a light smoky flavour. Finish: Short, but soft and sweet until the very end with a hint of tobacco. This is a special edition of Black Label that, so the label says, features sherry maturation. Exactly what is going on here is a bit vague, however, as the standard JW Black also contains malts that are at least partly sherry matured. So how is it different in presentation? Well for me the nose was very similar to standard Black Label but with more fruit and a touch less smoke, but 95% the same. If you told me it was standard Black Label from the nose alone I'd believe you. The palate, however, is where things change a fair bit. Modern Black Label is very well balanced but has a tendency to be slightly "hard" and angular when neat - it's actually a part of its charm. The Sherry Edition, however is very soft and much more fruity, with dried figs and dates, and a velvety caramel toffee in place of the smoke. The finish is rounder and richer than regular Black Label as well. In some ways it reminds me of Black Label from about 20 years ago, but without as much peat smoke, and I'm rating it higher here than the standard Black Label 12. "Above Average" : 81/100 (3 stars)