14 years old, distilled September 1999, 55.5% abv, first-fill Bota Corta, 517 bottles

The nose is wonderful - soft smoke, floral hints, raisins, tobacco - an astonishing breadth of flavours. The mouth-feel is thin but has a little cling. The body is sweet, with raisins and sultanas over cinnamon and vanilla, and then oranges and a touch of dark chocolate towards the finish. The finish is sweet and sharp - slight hints of acetone over vanilla and cinnamon.

Water produces tight, thin whorling. The nose is now more floral - honeysuckle - and has a touch of ginger alongside the raisins and tobacco. The body is almost divided - sweet fruit notes at first (oranges, lime, apple) and then a more bitter coffee and chocolate. The finish is dark chocolate and oranges over vanilla.

A superb dram. To assign an event to it is to straightjacket genius.

5/5