The nose has plenty of herbal character with a ton of vegetable funk. There's some tartness in it too. I would have guessed it to be tequila based on the smell, or possibly an Islay Scotch. The mouthfeel is fairly viscous. The palate is quite spicy with a big peppery hit (including white pepper as well) mixed with some herbaceous mint with vegetable sweetness. This is truly a unique drink. There some of that malty character that is present in Westward Single Malt as well, bringing in more richness to tie in with the vegetable flavor. The bitter flavors of the herbs are oddly smooth and blend well with he rest of the flavors. There's something a bit salty like the ocean and seaweed, giving this a further rugged character. It's hard to pick out the individual herbs and such, but it has a fair amount of complexity nonetheless. It's very interesting to drink. There's quite a bit of smoke in here and could be convinced that there's peat too. It doesn't taste exceptionally old, but I would be we have guessed that this was not yet even 2 years old! That must be because of the wood chips, but it's surprising that they don't overpower the flavor or make it one dimensional. Some of that rye tartness and minerality does come through, but it balances well with the rugged nature, the mineral surprisingly not making the whiskey taste weak. There's definitely a bit of fruity richness in here that reminds me of rich apples, but I'm surprised by how subtle and subdued it is given that apple wood and cherry wood were used for the malting and the applewood was again included as chips during the aging. This is a shockingly good whiskey, though it may be upsetting for rye drinkers that it tastes to unusual. This is highly intriguing and surely a sipper. The sweetness is nice and mixed with the rich flavors it doesn't seem at all overpowering. A grassy, grainy flavor is present without being overly forceful. The whole thing reminds me a bit of Laphroaig 10 on a good day. Excellent use of wood chips in this to create such a rich, smoky whiskey. In direct comparison, Laphroaig has more smoke and peat, but also a lighter overall flavor with more floral notes and vanilla. Laphroaig has more flavors clearly standing out from a single swig, but it's less rich overall. Frankly, this could pass as a 12 year old Scotch easily and might even work as an 18 or 21. It would be harder to pass off as a 25 though. This isn't a mind-blowing whiskey in terms of quality, but it is still very good. It's very enjoyable to drink. It's less fruity and floral than Caol Ila 12, with less of a Pinot noir acidity and less of a toasty richness. Call Ila 12 actually tastes really nice after Copper Fox Rye. After tasting Call Ila 12, this has a greater sense of youthful immaturity, though it by no means tastes like a baby whiskey - it just doesn't have the same marriage and balance of flavors that older whiskeys have. It reminds me a bit of Johnnie Walker Green in how the flavors blend together so that there's more of a general feeling of richness than any particular flavors. There's definitely substantially more Sherry flavor in the Caol Ila than in the Laphroaig or Copper Fox. With its comparatively fun fruitiness, the Laphroaig has some advantage over the Copper Fox. Really, all 3 are different and enjoyable for their own merits. It's really a tough call among them, though I think I might take the Laphroaig and Copper Fox over the Caol Ila by just a tad. There's even some hints of butterscotch in the sweetness here. What a delightfully surprising dram. It's no Johnnie Walker Green though and I think for the extra few bucks, I'd pay up for the improvement. On a subsequent tasting, I partially recant what I said about this tasting like an Islay Scotch. While it does have some of that herbal flavor (e.g. band aids) of Laphroaig 10 and other scotch, the herbal flavor largely just seems like a much stronger, more bitter version of what is in Templeton 4. This whiskey shows a strong influence from flavorful grain rather than character from peat or from the barrel. I would love to love this whiskey, but although it is interesting, rich, and different, it is hard to find a use for it and there's something just a tad unpleasant in its flavor profile. Maybe it's an acquired taste though like Islay Scotch. If it had its own genre, maybe the flavors would be standard enough that it would taste really good. Or maybe it would be a mediocre example of its category.