The color is beautifully dark and rich. The nose has a bitter woody smell that is rich with some dark red fruit. The nose is less complex than that of the Bladnoch Adela, but it's also richer. There's a hint of something tart on the nose that is kind of interesting. The palate is rich but unfortunately comes in with a lot of wet cardboard. The other flavors are terrific, but the cardboard is really disappointing. Without sipping any further, I would definitely take the Adela over this. It's super rich and sweet with some delicious dark dried fruit and just the right amount of spiciness. It's super viscous. There are some nutty bitter oil notes that help to conceal the cardboard, though they don't succeed by much. I absolutely believe that there is a port finish on this one. The tartness comes with a little bit of mint too. There are some really soft tannins that have a hint of clove (which does fit with he cardboard) and coat the tongue. This is actually really good for a wet cardboard scotch. Like, impressively good. It absolutely is not worth the price, but it's really enjoyable. It's unfortunate that it's so numbing, regardless of the circumstances, though. Also adding to the cardboard is the plentiful vanilla and hint of floral flavor. There isn't a ton of smoke here and peat is essentially a no-show, but there's a lot of richness, fruit, spices, tartness, sweetness, vanilla. There's some herbal and floral components but they aren't obtrusive. It's rich and interesting, but doesn't have the swirling complexity of the Adela. It also has a wet cardboard flavor. This would be pushing against 20 without the cardboard. With it, it's a bit lower, but with how well the other flavors support the cardboard, it surprisingly isn't ruined.