The nose is really assertive even though it has light flavors. There are lemon peel, salt, brine, some floral mineral notes, and hay. The palate is a lot better than expected though. It's refreshing and fruity with some sweetness that largely avoids gross bitter notes. The strength adds some nice warmth. With further sipping, spice come out. It tastes like white pepper with some cinnamon. The bitterness really starts coming out more, making this lose its appeal. The bitterness really becomes unappealing and the complexity fades as the unpalatable notes stand out the most. There's definitely some smoke in here too. This is borderline sippable, but isn't very enjoyable. That bit of graininess in the palate that adds a bit of toffee richness and sweetness is the one thing that saves this drink.The flavor is certainly rich, though I'm not sure it is all that sophisticated. Fruit and alcohol are the dominant flavors, with see vanilla and woody spices thrown in. It's kind of bitter and full, but not that superbly deep experience that I want. OK, it is quite rich, but it doesn't have a superb amount of variation. The Macallan 12 Sherry has nothing on this with its less-developed flavor and more alcohol presence. Fruity, woody, and old. Reasonably sweet with some clear cherry. It isn't as complex as Glenfarclas 25, but it has some of those influences. It tastes sort of somewhere between Glenfarclas 25 and Delord 1981. That's definitely a good thing, but both of those combined costs less than this...so why not buy both instead? Toffee, semi-sweet chocolate and raisins are there, as is some sort of nutty backing (almond? Sadly not that delicious coconut). This is a very balanced drink with flavors that delivers good flavors, but it doesn't have an astonishing amount of complexity and doesn't have any flavors that really leap out. If anything does, the raisin flavor here stands out as a uniquely excellent feature.