This 12-year-old Blended Scotch was originally produced for the Indian market to celebrate India’s 50th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain, and features a 50% malt, 50% grain blend with whiskies from 50 different Scotland distilleries. The nose has good malt and dried fruit notes, with pears, orange peel, figs, honey, and a nice peatiness to pull it all together. The taste is rich and warming at first with a buttery texture that leads into well-rounded spicy notes of cinnamon and allspice. Malty notes are prevalent throughout the palate with a touch of orange peel and hint of dark chocolate. The finish is long and smooth with notes of allspice and orange peel that fade away nicely with just a touch of smoke.  (March, 2013)