A very flamboyant experiment: an intensely smoky Islay malt with an unusually long finish of 60 months in a fist fill Pedro Ximenez hogshead. And contrarily to what one would expect, it has not become ultra fruity or winey: it still is unmistakeably Islay, powerful and peaty! At the nose it’s very maritime and tarry, with just a hint of red fruits, a slightly sour note of cherries, and a touch of leather. It doesn’t need water for tasting, although a drop will make it rounder and tame a bit of the intensity: in both cases, it will surprise you with the strength of its smokiness. This is definitely a very robust and muscular whisky, with plenty of peat, tar, ash. There is a hint of fruitiness (again, red cherries), a slightly floral note, some liquorice, but no sweetness: while chewy, it’s actually very dry. The only sign of such a long finish is the intense tannins that linger on the palate in the aftertaste.