It has a very full nose with lots of peat smoke and some briney notes as well. The smoke and brine translate well on the palate with a surprisingly smooth mouth feel. I tried a bit of the Ardbeg An Oa shortly after and found that the Smoke Head is actually a bit smokier than the Ardbeg although not as refined. It does appear that the Smoke Head my have some colour added as it is quite a bit darker than the Ardbeg but it is a very good budget priced Islay noetheless. To my taste it seems a little more similar to Laphroaig than Ardbeg but I quickly admit that I do not have the most refined palate for picking out those subtle nuances and did not have any Laphraoig on hand to really compare. To sum it all up, if you are a fan of smoke and don’t want to break the bank on filling that void Smoke head is a good buy. It is leaps and bounds ahead of Islay Mist and Mclelland’s Islay even if it doesn’t have some of the class of the primary Islay producers.