Nose : Distinctly confidant licorice-bourbon notes with near perfect bitter-sweet balance; burnt honeycomb and toffee also abound

Taste : Outstanding richness and sheen to the enormous barley-oak sweetness; again there is a big bourbony cut to the cloth with all the licorice and molassed sugar normally associated; but the barley adds that extra dimension

Finish : Long, wonderfully layered oak offering variations of a sweet dry theme; a touch silky with some cream toffee at the end.

Nose : Unusually dry peat; not dissimilar to peat reek absorbed by an old leather armchair; a hint of citrus, too

Taste : Despite the nose, the immediate sensation is one of being caressed by molassed sugar and then a ratching up of the peat notes. As they get more forceful, so the experience becomes that little bit drier and spicier, though not without the molasses refusing to give way

Finish : You can tell the quality of the distillate and the barrels it has been matured in by the crystalline depth to the finish. Everything is clear on the palate and the butterscotch vanillas wrap the phenols for a comfortable and clean finale.

Nose : Heavy, thickly oaked and complex: some curious barley-sugar notes here shrouded in soft smoke. Big, but seductively gentle, too

Taste : The delivery, though controlled at first, is massive! Then more like con-fusion as that smoke on the nose turns into warming, full blown peat, but it far from gets its own way as a vague sherry trifle note (curious, seeing how there are no sherry butts involved) – the custard presumably is oaky vanilla – hammers home that barley – fruitiness to make for a bit of a free-for-all; but for extra food measure the flavours develop into a really intense chocolate fudge middle which absolute resonates through the palate

Finish : A slight struggle here as the mouthfeel gets a bit puffy here with the dry peat and oak; enough molassed sweetness to see the malt through to a satisfying end, though. Above all the spices, rather than lying down and accepting their fate, rise up and usher this extraordinary whisky to its exit.