Nose: Very obviously sherried, but not overpowering. Sweet dark fruit, possibly plum. Very pleasant to nose, can't help but to keep coming back to smell it. Palate: Reminds me a great deal of Glenfiddich 12, but leaning more towards the sweet sherry fruitiness and with little or no vanilla. I'm getting notes of perfectly ripened plum without the skin. It takes a good 10 or so minutes in the glass to really open up but it's worth the wait. No water required. Finish. Short, sweet golden raisin. After initially purchasing the bottle I was a bit disappointed to see that this batch of Aberlour 12 year Double Cask Matured is rated at 40% ABV, not the 43% listed here. Maybe that's how it's bottled here for Canada? Upon my initial tasting I also found it to have a bit of a young whisky burn and was honestly not impressed. However roughly 2 months after having opened the bottle and drinking half of it, this scotch seems to have improved significantly. Initially I thought this product was clearly inferior to Glenfiddich 12, but now consider it to be at least on par and it seems to just keep getting better. Would buy again.