9 years old, distilled 25th February 2009, 58.7% abv, Re-charred Hogshead, 267 bottles, dram price A

The nose has vanilla, baked apple, and a hint of caramel. The mouthfeel is thin with no cling. The body is very spirituous, with notes of vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, baked apples and toffee. The finish has more of that spirituous nature, with cinnamon, baked apples and vanilla.

Water brings out thick whorling that settles quickly into brief mottling. The nose gains more baked apple and loses the caramel. The body is still spirituous, and gains mixed nuts but loses the caramel. The finish gains mixed nuts and more cinnamon.

The flavours are fine, but this whisky tastes a lot more aggressive than its abv suggest. It may need time to sit.

One for a hip flask on a spring afternoon.

Technical score: 2/5

Personal preference: Just the one dram, thanks.

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.