https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2019/07/04/bottle-polishing-summer-2019/

N: Resinous and youthful with a strong pongy spirity touch and sweet notes of butterscotch, honey and melon raised from far more bourbon casks than the fuller sherry cask maturation from 105 expressions a few years back.
T: Whilst the arrival is fine, there are firm Speyside Distillery Pot Still echoes, albeit without such a bitter metallic direction. This is however tin-like and coppery. From another perspective, this reminds me of STR distillery newcomers – bourbon-forward with grape-cask influences. Gets a little congested half way through but takes a large amount of water very well. Almost rum-like and even Cognac-y at times.
F: Again, this reminds me of many of those young STR whiskies, albeit a tad more mature and consolidated if a little butyric. I love that still-present bourbon/vanilla-sweet waxy butterscotch, with more than a hint of toffee apple as well as detergent/soapy hints that have been quietly lurking around.
C: Still a fine NAS single malt, but the character of the 105 that I always associated with prominent sherry cask maturation [from batches only two or three years ago] has noticeably changed.

LAST FEW DRAMS

N: Fruity, spirity and woody-fresh with fruity-creamy > nutty < sappy-vanilla-sawdust.
T: Neat, it’s a full-on prickly & [bourbon > sherry] fruity-spirity number, not the joyous malt I’d hoped for. With water, bourbon=fruity vanilla resinous/sappy wood-plane shavings with an assured vibrant heat. A winter warmer for sure, though that’s mainly the high-abv spirit talking.
F: I’m waiting for the chewy/gooey chocolate-y/caramac notes that I enjoyed from my 2006 bottling to arrive. This hasn’t let up or given anymore than it did when opened. On a positive note, it finishes with a few very subtle Asian, Eastern & confectionary fruity/aromatic spices, but in the main it stays rather spirity and somewhat butyric.
C: Clearly plenty of young spirit in here, making everything rather basic. With so many choices available in the market [BBR sherry casks WB, Aberlour A’bunadh WLP86 for example], I’ll be passing this expression by for a few years.

Sweetish, spicy.
It tastes almost like a bourbon.
Cereal stands out.
Strong and nice.