Highlands region – 57.2%ABV – cask strength – 1 liter bottle – Not sold in the US – £71 | €82

Holy cow! This liquid proves you do not need to be a smokey/peaty whisky to be a manly whisky.

Initial whiff — This thing punched me right in the face with a handful of oak, cloves and more spirit than the “holy ghost”

On the mouth — Fruity, cherries (tons of them, the maraschino type), vanilla, oak and some unexpected, albeit a slight amount of, smoke??

Finish — Long, spicy, burny, fruity. This is a “should not have had this on lunch” type of dram. Big fan!

In sum — A great effort on behalf of the Sixteen Men of Tain.  I think I liked this more than the Astar.  Someday I’d like to do a side by side; the Traditional vs. the Astar to see if I’d make the same statement again.