Bottled exclusively for Binny's Beverage Depot

Okay, wow. Where do I start? This is packed with unusual stuff, and tastes nothing like a Linkwood. The nose offers nothing at first... then, some pears and almonds, very light. I'm not expecting much from the palate. But, wow! It's a big surprise in the mouth. An explosion of fruit, floral stuff, and spices -- all in a crazy and unexpected vein. The spice hits first -- cinnamon, red pepper flakes, serrano -- and then the fruit enters in a big way. Apples and pears mostly... which are then joined with other sweet stuff like caramel, toffee, and vanilla. Anise enters here too. Then there's tobacco, and something like chewing on leather. Throughout all of this, the whisky maintains a perfect level of medium-sweetness -- what balance! On the very long finish, mint joins the previous. A tinge of sulfur is there too, but it combines and helps the flavors here. The whole whisky is very alive, kicking, and exciting -- if you like the "stranger" sort of single malts, you're gonna love drinking this. Flavors change every sip. This is excellent, unique, crave-able, and a fantastic value! With only 242 bottles of this in existence -- plus the fact that it was bottled in 2003 -- I can't figure out why there's still any left, but I can tell you this: get yourself some now.

Warning: This whisky may destroy your palate to anything you subsequently taste. I'm not sure why, but although this isn't super-sweet whisky, it seems to destroy all sweet flavors in anything afterwards.

And, oh yeah: You'll get the fullest flavors out of this if you have some bourbon beforehand. Just trust me, it works.

Footnote: After drinking this for a long time now, I note in particular the Fruit-Stripe gum related things above, but also a metallic aspect that fleets in and out with frequency, and lots of oak.  And I still love it.