A very special bottling from two casks of Islay single malt, enhanced by a 24 months finish in first fill Oloroso. The intensely peated character of the whisky still wins the fight against the sherry: the wine is not immediately noticeable at the nose, and it actually helps in the smoky and earthy flavours to stand out with more intensity. It’s leathery, farmy, tarry, with notes of damp woods and a certain darkness. At first sip, both straight or with a drop of water, it’s unmistakeably Islay: a strong rugged whisky, with a firm maltiness and intense notes of bonfires, chimney smoke and, again, tar. Liquorice root, dark coffee without sugar, a markedly toasted character with just a hint of raisins. Again, it’s as if the interaction with the sherry casks did not bring out an explicit fruity trait, but it made the balsamic and smoky notes even deeper. Long, persistent, extremely wintery and peated in the finale.