I was finally able to land a pour of this travel retail exclusive whisky from my friend @Telex, in Maryland. I bought a bottle of this about 6 months ago but have been reluctant to open it because stocks have disappeared and I’d like to hold one for further down the road. My buddy opened his for his YouTube channel review and graciously sent me a pour so I don’t have to crack mine. This is antique gold in the Glencairn and leaves behind some seriously heavy droplets when you give it a spin. It took quite awhile for some thick, undefined legs to form though. She’s an oily beast and bottled at 48%. The nose was a heavy mix of smoke, butterscotch and band aid for the longest time. Some faint citrus and malty sweetness crept in and provided a nice change to your typical Laphroaig. The palate was BBQ brisket and sweet, sherry cask with a dense, medicinal note that struck me as odd- just because it didn’t seem very well integrated. I expect the flavors, they just didn’t seem to be mixed. I got smoke and BBQ- then medicinal and band aid- back and forth they went. The finish is velvety smooth, smoky, warm and oily. The flavors linger and I do get some zesty lemon peel residual flavor to end things on a high note. Overall, this is a delicious NAS that just slightly trails the Lore bottle. Lore has that well-aged complexity that’s not present here, but this is still a very solid dram. 4.25 stars. Cheers.