The nose has nothing like that blast of smoke and peat that the 2019 Supernova has. It smells kind of like watered down malt whiskey - not at all exciting. There's more fruit on the nose than I expect from Ardbeg, though not a ton. There are peat and smoke on the nose here, though nothing like in the 2019 Supernova. The palate is similarly much lighter with a lot of sweetness that doesn really fit - sort of like Oban 14. There's also a lot of gross bread. The fruit comes through with a lot of vanilla and floral notes. There's a decent amount of harshness - more than the 2019 (which was quite smooth), but less than many whiskeys. Really, it's decently smooth. Ultimately, there's a lot of iodine from the peat and that can be a bit overwhelming. It's good, but has flaws. It's completely clear that the 2019 supernova is better. Although this has that sweet layer, the sweet flavors blend together and then get trampled by the peat, smoke, and licorice. There's a ton of peat, which is unfortunately too much. I normally like sweetness, but this sweetness lacks character. The combination of peat and sweetness is unfortunately bland and ill-balanced. There is a bit of meatiness, but this mostly tastes like peat and char. So much iodine. And sweetness too. It's certainly sippable, but I'd pick something else, especially at this price point. Diving deep enough, there is some complexity, but all told it isn't balanced and that's a big problem. I have no idea why people are such big fans. With some water, everything mellows a bit a and the prickly spice becomes more interesting than harsh. Still, the flavor has issues. There isn't even anything awesome that jumps out as a delightful flavor. The water muddies things and the result is not a great whiskey.