From an undisclosed distillery on Orkney, this single malt displays the conflicting character of the whiskies from that island: do they technically belong to the Highlands stile? Orkney malts have a character of their own, and this bottling confirms it. At the nose it’s very dark, deeply oaky and even a bit smoky, with a touch of old books and furniture. With water, it releases dried raisins and orange peel. At the palate we immediately have the tannic attack of long maturation in oak, a touch of bitters, grapefruit juice and medicinal herbs. But there also is a fruitier side of apricots, raisins, plums, bergamot, and a whiff of coffee. The 42 months of finish in a refill Pedro Ximenez cask only gave it a touch of extra fruitiness, but its overall style remains dark, tannic, autumnal and spicy.