I have always loved “sherry bombs”, so this Highlands whisky is exactly the style that I enjoy best! Not peated at all, and graced by a full maturation in sherry wood: first in second fill, and then with a 24 months finish in a first fill Oloroso butt to enhance its winey character for a truly old-fashioned style. It’s very winey, nutty and astringent at the nose: a very dry style of sherry, with notes of old bookstore, cocoa and black coffee. No easy fruitiness, on the contrary quite austere. Only a slight hint of the usual piney and resiny notes of the distillery shines through. The same very tight and “old sherry” style is found at the palate: nutty, dry, fully dominated by the Oloroso. There is a hint of a pleasant bitterness like that of a very hoppy ale: malty, aromatic, and very fresh in spite of the sherry. The finale is long, lingering and very tight and tannic. – Fabio Rossi