I first tried this whisky in the hotel bar the night before WhiskyLive London in March 2011. I liked it a lot and therefore was quite surprised (and disappointed) when I recently tasted the cask strength version of this because for me that one missed the mark. I MUCH prefer this 40% ABV expression. The nose is very fruity, red apples and I was left with the question.... where's the peat? The taste has more fruit, banana maybe, perhaps just "generic fruit", like juicy fruit gum. The peat comes through in the finish however. Overall not complex and more reminiscent of fruity taste I find in pot still styles whiskies like Red Breast than a strongly peated Islay. Good though.
Update July 2012. I revisted this whiskey recently and when I do that I often get some new or different notes, but this time I had such a different experience I thought it was worth noting those. I did not change the overall rating but did find it a more peaty experience second time around. Still not sure if bottling changed or my palate did but anyway here are the more recent notes... the nose had an immediate hit of briney peat and iodine, that faded to reveal some fruits. The taste had caramel, lemon and perhaps some sherry. The finish started as campfire smoke and then became peppery.