Taster

Nose: Toffee apples and Blue Mountain coffee: clean and fruit cake rich, complete with toasted almonds. An aroma worth passing a few malts for.

Palate: Drier than the nose suggests, but no less rich. Quite fat and fudgy, though, with a very malty middle despite the spicy fruit.

Finish: Not as long as some previous renditions, but continues the toffee-apple theme.

Comment: A quality malt that restores the faith.

Score: 7.3

Taster

Nose: Lovely balance of sherry, malt and peat.

Palate: Fruitcake, ginger cake, spiced bread. Sambuca.

Finish: Luscious and smoky.

Comment: Too firm and well proportioned to be deemed voluptuous - but it's a delightfully close call.

Score: 7.5