Rating: 16/23 I'm sampling this again because it and the Little Bay remind me somewhat of Connemara and its distiller's edition, which I just tried. N: Sweet, some meatiness with a dash of smoke, a tad of malt, and also a fair amount of brine. Not a ton happening here, but it's not bad. The sherry in the Little Bay gives it a more impressive nose. P: This is palate has more presence than Connemara's. It's sweet with a really interesting brine layered over some rich malt, with some substantial vanilla and spices (cinnamon and pepper). I get just a little bit of strawberry and orange in a very nice way. It isn't incredibly rich, but it has a nice fullness with an interesting profile with nice flavors. F: The briny sweetness (though with the sweetness reduced) and vanilla linger along with a soft savory richness from the other flavors being stirred together. Really, quite enjoyable. This isn't one of the best drams I've ever had, but it's a darned fine with that has its own personality with a nice balance. It's a very solid sipper indeed, surpassing Connemara with its richness despite not having any of that nice peat. I would love to try a peated version of this. As it is, with the bottle being open for a year and a half and low for most of that time, I think that this is around a 15 to 17. I'm a bit torn as to whether the brine is excessive and the complexity is lacking, and it sure is no Yellow Spot, so I'll go with 16 rather than the 17 I was leaning toward. the comparison seems a bit odd, but this seems more in line with the quality of (the new) Redbreast 12 CS. 16 it is.