Rating: 15/23 I know nothing about this dram. I assume it's supposed to be a step up from Arran 10 or something, but I know nothing about it's finish, profile, etc. Adventure ahead! N: I can smell the smoke and peat immediately, along with a bit of salty seaweed. Although this isn't a peat bomb by any means, this smells like a whisky with personality, unlike Arran 10. I'm liking this one better already. The smoke is perhaps a little stronger than the peat, but the two are nicely balanced. They aren't mild, but they aren't overwhelming. The fruit still comes through in this, with that same sultana smell as Arran 10, along with a little bit of orang zing. I wouldn't be shocked if I learned that this is just a peated Arran 10. There's tobacco, licorice, a little bit of campfire, and BBQ. There's also salt, grain and hay, with a bit of a barnyard aspect. It reminds me a hair of Springbank 10. P: The smoke and peat are there, but they aren't as strong as I expected. The seaweed is pretty substantial up front along with kind of a sweet and bland flavor, then I get a kick as the peat burns its way in. It starts off with a bit more of a neutral smoky flavor, but then the tobacco of the peat takes over. The sweetness might be sultanas, but it's difficult to place. That sweet character here is really disappointing because it lacks complexity and richness, but it does provide some balance. There is sort of just a sugar water element. On the malt side, I do get some grain and dried grass and salt and the whole profile is reasonably full. It's maybe a step down from the nose, but it's still good. It tastes young with sort of a white grape flavor to it even. The flavors here are decently complex and balanced, though a bit on the light and sweet side, which doesn't work super well here because the peat still squishes a fair amount of the base flavor. There's something astringent like a squeeze of lemon and grapefruit were worked in here somehow. There's this underlying fragrant floral vanilla character to this that can be a hair distracting at times, but it generally OK. F: The smoke and peat persist onto the finish, with a richness from the smoke adding some nice savoriness and working in with some graininess. The peat's tobacco flavor is perhaps a bit too aggressive, but it's OK. The grain and salt persist to a lesser extent, as does a general sugary sweetness, though it's lacking in detail. That floral vanilla does waft through occasionally as well. This is a substantial improvement over Arran 10, though I wouldn't say that it's an exceptional whisky. It tastes young and the more island and Islay characteristics sort of just flop over it a little, obscuring the details underneath. It's also fairly mild for a peated whiskey, but usually mild ones showcase some nice character of the grain or barrel like Amrut Fusion or Hakushu 12. It tastes a bit like this is trying to be Springbank 10, it's lighter with less personality (though perhaps as a result it isn't as apparently sweet). It also reminds me of Talisker 10, but Talisker has a bit more personality. I wouldn't say that Talisker is massively better though. Springbank 10, on the other hand, is massively better. I'm thinking 14 to 16 on this one, with 16 being a bit of a stretch. I think I'll go with 15.