10 years old, distilled 24th March 2005, 61.4% abv, refill ex-bourbon barrel, 192 bottles

The nose is grassy and herbal - green grass, hints of lemongrass, sage, mint and a little touch of pine needles. There's also a fruitiness - rhubarb and light orange zest, with a little peach. Finally, a hint of tobacco building on repeated nosing. Quite the most complex and delicious nose I've experienced for a while! The palate is thin with a little waxiness but not much coating. The body has plenty of spirit notes, veering towards acetate and PVA glue very briefly before opening into mint leaf, spun sugar, orange chew sweets, light toffee and vanilla. The finish is short, with toffee and lemongrass.

Water brings out tight, short-lived and compact whorling - almost disappointing. The nose now has less sage and green grass, more lemongrass, orange zest, peaches and gains some golden syrup. The body has more toffee and a hint of tobacco leaves, with pineapple, peaches and vanilla towards the end. It's still spirituous, but pleasantly so. The finish is still short, but has less lemongrass and more pineapple and a hint of tobacco joining the toffee.

A superb and complex dram that needs time and repeated tasting - what a shame!

4.5/5