Nose: Relaxed and laid-back woody peat-reek, smoke-dried fruit (is there such a thing?), oiled leather, mild baking spices and candied orange peel. There's an earthy, almost mouldy note at play as well. Adding water develops strong sweet berry notes. [The dry glass has a very faint smoky aroma]. Palate: Sweet, mildly spicy smoke with good density and many dark fruity notes in the foundation. It has a buttery quality and a fig jam note appears in the development. The oloroso sherry casks can be clearly discerned and the texture is oily but balanced by slight dry tannin. The addition of water is highly recommended as it develops the palate further and certainly produces more smokiness. There is no trace of plastic or metallic notes and no intrusive alcohol heat. Finish: Medium. The jammy note slowly changes to berry compote on the aftertaste. Sweet lingering smoke is the final impression, and adding water intensifies this. This is the most dark-fruit styled Loch Gorm I've tasted. It's unquestionably a good whisky and arguably the most complex and complete bottling to date. It's also heading steadily away from its roots towards the direction of Sanaig's profile. I think I preferred this whisky a couple of years ago when it was more raw and less polite. There was once a brisk feral woodiness to the peat-reek but it seems to be getting more domesticated with each release. In my review of the 2018 bottling I said that in comparison to the 2017 the "bonfire smoke had moved from the beach to the farmyard". Now it seems to be smoldering in the forest, and the fire is burning on damp ground. Over time in the glass the wood-smoke character of the new make begins to reassert itself over the cask influence, but it's not the instant hit in the face it used to be. It gave me the impression of being complacent rather than bursting with enthusiasm. However adding water improved this dram considerably and I'd strongly recommend a half to a full teaspoon. There was no Australian allocation for this release so I've not quoted a price below, but going on the trend from past years it would probably have been around AUS$175. Many thanks to @Soba45 for the tasting sample. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)