Neat. Neck pour. The peat bites at you at first but isn’t aggressive enough to hide the flavors behind it. Pear and chocolate. Salted chocolate even. Hint of pralines. Bit musty like a forest after morning rain. Even a hint of oak. It’s simultaneously sweet and sour. Super creamy on the palate. Getting those pears and vanilla on the tongue. Even some caramel and sugar. Peat shows up but doesn’t overwhelm again. Brings with it a chocolate rush accompanied by that brine. Aftertaste brings back the pear. Peat lingers in the cheeks and gums. Gets sweeter and sweeter the more the mouth acclimates to the peat. I love this new Ardbeg expression. The price feels a bit weird to me costing the same price as the 10 year but it is also unique enough that I can simply sit back and appreciate it as it’s own experience rather than say it’s a bad value being half the age. It’s so well balanced and the flavors are so distinct and inviting.