16: First tasting after the long drive back from the Bay Area and fist scotch tasting in 4 months. The nose is mellow with lots of vanilla nectar and light barrel spice like cinnamon and pepper. A bit like an oaked Chardonnay. There's a subtle apricot scent with some even more subtle strawberry and cherry flavors. Some just more plain and simple wood scent comes through too. Not as flat as I initally thought, though perhaps it's just faired well with the bottle open. The palate has some really nice peppery wood notes at the front mixed with some smooth nectary vanilla. It's more tart than I expected with some surprising bitter mintiness from the wood. That isn't a bad flavor for it, but it sure isn't what I expected or remembered either. I'm getting some more herbal flavors from the long slow aging in bourbon barrels now too, but they're surprisingly subtle. This still sure doesn't taste 26 years old. The mouth feel is moderately viscous, but not too much. It's quite enjoyable, but it's hard to push past the 16 or maybe 17 range with this profile given the minimal complexity. A few drops of water make it a bit smoother and bring out a bit more nectar to help balanced the herbal flavor, which the water also gives more presence too. This is an extremely subtle scotch that ultimately showcases a nice side of aging in refill bourbon barrels with its mild yet mature herbaceous, spicy, and vanilla elements. Still, it's hard to believe that it's worth putting in 26 years in those barrel for this result and the degree of subtlety could perhaps best be described as "excessive". With the water added, I do pick up some smoke and eventually a hint of tobacco from the herbal flavor. The contrast and balance with the sweet nectar vanilla is actually quite enticing. I'm going with a 16, but I can imagine bumping this up to a 17. It's more peppery but has less harshness from the alcohol than Dalwhinnie 15. Its flavors are also less interesting given the minimal smoke and red fruit, but there is definitely less sulfur too and the balance is better.