I just scored my bottle of this in the mail today and, though I have too many other bottles to finish first, I couldn't help but try some to compare it to the 3rd release, which thrilled me to no end. I'd been considering trying to find another bottle of the 3rd release, but had to know which one I preferred. With that, I ripped open the cap and went for it. I forgot to take a photo of the bottle (I'll include one later), but it's gorgeous. It's like the label for the third release but with black and golden foil.
Nose: The nose is much less obvious than the 3rd release, and it takes some time to gather itself. It's refined, no doubt, and it draws you in with cream and very waxy fruit (papaya, guava, lemon). The smoke is less pronounced than the 3rd release. Honey, sweet hay, and almost a mix of grain and bourbon whiskey (on honey). Green tea and coriander round out the spice, and there's a very faint trace of the red berry/cherry quality from sherry, or my mind deceives me. A nutty, oily aroma from flaxseed oil too.
Palate: Very approachable, and it flits between being full and light. Again with the smoke, cream, and wax. The smoke is more intense here than on the nose, and it's that great coal smoke. Grapefruit and crude oil. Light amounts of green apple skins and white pepper. It has that coastal saltiness, but minor and not on the scale of Talisker or Port Ellen. Olive oil rounds out the finish, which captures the salt, too. For some reason, I keep returning to Talisker on this one, though with less pronounced and dominant flavors. More mellow.
Finish: Coal, smoke yields, but it's definitely 'blacker' than the third release. Fruit is more on citrus, but also less clear. Close to lemon. Waxy fruit and toasted flaxseed oil again. Less discernible fruit, but more coastal. Olive oil and rosemary on the end. Long after most of the finish goes, there's a hint of meat and cherry from the small sherry influence. B+/A-
I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I had hoped that it would be more or less a new bottling of the 3rd release, with maybe some minor changes. The profile is broadly the same, but it didn't capture my attention in the same way. It's got the same waxy fruit, smoke, and coastal quality, and it's all very well combined, but everything is more subdued and mellow. I would have liked to have a stronger melding of flavors, if you take my meaning. As the finish went on, I found it extremely enjoyable. Though this review probably sounds a bit negative, that's only because I was comparing it to the 3rd release, which blew me away. This is a really excellent bottle of whisky, combining qualities from various styles to create something that can't really be found in another label. If you can't score up a bottle of the 3rd release, this will still do well for those who like smoke and waxy fruit.
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