Appearance: Nice and pale, straw colour. Some real legs on the swirl. Nose: Burnt wood, bonfires definitely, but for me, more of a ultra-smokey BBQ. There's a little seaweed, some iodine, but not as much as Laphroaig. Doesn't quite have the chemical/TCP/antiseptic nose I get with some. Palate: For me, this whiskey truely blows you away on the swallow. Huge smokey character, a lot of peat, some seaweed. Like standing on the coast on a rainy day and taking a huge lungfull of air. There's a sharpness too, an intense mineraly character which is almost like licking rocks at the seaside. Finish is pure smoke, but really late. There's an ash like quality that lingers around for a while but is really quite pleasant. Overall: I'm not going to hide the fact I'm a huge Ardbeg fan and a big Islay whiskey drinker. For me, this is the king of whiskeys, my personal favourite, and one of the best single malts on the planet. So complex, so gorgeous. Deep woodsmoke flavours all wrapped up in a subtle well rounded and punchy drop, touches of seaweed, peat and iodine all add to the complexity. Sublime.