Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: This jumps out at you. Musty funk, along with honeyed cereal grains. Guessing we're back in Scotland. I think I'm picking up on oak and maybe some brine, maybe even a little peat? Maybe we're in the islands? Minerality, citrus oils. Almost candied lemon peels. There's macerated ripe fruits, as well, buried in the back. Lack of new make character tells me we've made it past 10 years - maybe up to 15. Depth and types of sweetness tells me we have bourbon and sherry cask in play. Maybe 45% abv? Palate: Friendly. The palate here is throwing me for a loop. I can't tell if this is all malt or blended. Almost catching sherry cask or new charred oak Irish vibes. Bananas, vanilla, cream. Slightly biscuity. Still have citrus oils and that touch of minerality, so I'm staying with my Scotch guess. But this isn't giving me peat on the palate. Black tea. Baking spices, leaning into the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove world, as well as black pepper. Smaller casks would explain the oak character/barrel bite I'm getting. Going to guess 10-15 years, charred new oak cask and/or small casks at play. No sherry cask, though Scotch, as well, but not Islay. This is all mid and back palate. Relatively balanced overall. Medium mouthfeel, with some tannin texture. Finish: Pop of ethanol which then quickly dissapates. We move into this balance of black pepper, toasted grains, honey, and vanilla. Dry oak sits under everything else. Minerality, barrel bitter/tannins, and barrel char/smoke and next to subtle vanilla and white sugar as we fade out. Medium length finish. Other notes: This one was a blast! Got a decent enough read on the age. Off by 1% for ABV. The cask types, however - this is a combo of first-fill ex-bourbon, refilled, AND re-charred. Though I wasn't necessarily correct with the specifics, I was absolutely getting some fresh char, which also presented as a slightly smoky character. Explains why I thought I was getting peat at first. Proud of how close I got, regardless, since blending cask types is a black art and detecting specifics would likely require beyond Paterson levels of schnozz mastery. I like this one. It would be a great intro to Scotch for bourbon drinkers, and would be a nice way to start moving into bourbon for Scotch drinkers. That being said, I don't know that I'd ever actually buy this for myself. It's not flawed, it's just not giving me enough of either camp. Either way, solid sip. Until next time, cheers!