I read an article about appreciation of blending and the obsession with single barrel and it struck a cord. Single barrel is put on a pedestal but really like wine making the human element shouldn't stop at harvest time. Blending is an art form and here it's done well. Ainiseed, burnt caramel and much much more going on here. One part of me is how can this retain its 5 star if I didn't give Pappy 15 and George Stag 2017 a similar rating? Still its $70 USD. Yes that's right folks less than a 15th of the price of the Pappy on the secondary market. Its got beautiful earthy depth, one you can taste the history on. Faded burnt caramel, rich but mellow oak, hint of dryness, cherry in the background. In todays world VFM is stratospheric. How much should VFM contribute to a score? The original score was 4.5 and I'm hesitant to lower. It more than held it's own against the winkle family. Update 29/9. The story of my life.. love a sample and a while later buy a bottle.. in the mean time quality plummets...it's a Glenfiddich and bourbon blender speciality these days. This sadly has gone down hill. It was a 4.75 dram in its heyday..now a 3.75 to 4.