10 years old, distilled 11th August 2008, 58.9% abv, Second Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 235 bottles, dram price B

The nose has herb gardens, toffee and hints of marzipan. The mouthfeel is thin with no cling. The body has toffee, honeycomb and then ginger and cheap dark chocolate. The finish has dark chocolate and honeycomb, with hints of ginger.

Water brings out thin, rapidly expanding whorling that settles quickly into mottling. The nose gains more herb garden and some marzipan. The body gains more ginger and some sage, and loses the toffee. The ginger is a little bigger. The finish gains more ginger and some cinnamon, and loses the honeycomb.

A decent dram, but it’s not that spicy finish that deters me - the balance was never quite right between the flavours. Not fatally flawed, more of a rough diamond.

One for summer afternoons.

Technical score: 2.5/5

Personal preference: I’d have another dram.

This whisky was provided by the SMWS in a preview session - thanks to them for that. Full editorial control has been retained in the tasting process.