hs305 scored this whisky 89 points

...and this bottling does not change that legacy. But it is an interesting complex and delicious summer dram that I really like to sip. Forget the official tasting notes, like so often they do not do justice to this fine dram (what about hiring a professional nose, Cadenhead?). A great pick for the Single Cask range, for sure - but it rather represents the exquisit old Traditional Scotch style and not the modern "whisky zeitgeist" of simple but extremely spiked drams...
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The colour is yellow gold and the nose offers a much more impressive profile than I expected. It is barley sugary sweet with nice notes of buttered cookies, honeys, autumn floral, oily and grassy-earthy aromas. All in a fine balance with marginal wood impact, this is completely spirits driven (what I like). It is rather subtle as can be expected from a blending malt but it is both delicious to sniff and interesting to explore. Give it some time to enfold and it gets very complex for a 18-years old. But it is certainly not suited for drinkers that go for the "quick kick" (sensory wise, not in terms of alcohol)...
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The taste is subtle and complex too and again it is much more impressive than I expected. Chew it for a while to get all the different flavours in here, ranging across the board from cookie-fruity to bitter herbal tea-ish. Very interesting to explore (take your time) and delicious to sip when I am in the mood for a light summer dram.
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The initial mouthfeel is warming and coating without distracting moments. The finish is of medium length and turns more vanilla-peppery spicy with a minor drying ending (which is not distracting because still a lot of sweet flavours are present). Some water releases more interesting aromas in the nose (among them wet hay and chalk) and turns the taste more approachable (less complex - but the most tasty flavours grow stronger). I like to explore this dram neat first and prefer to drink it both neat and somewhat reduced (another characteristic of excellent spirits).