Gurkhas and Guns

A friend who journeyed to Nepal brought back this affordable bottle. The label states it's a "special 10-year-old Speyside single malt aged in sherry casks, combined with renowned Highland malts matured in bourbon casks." It was blended and bottled within Nepal. The aroma offers honey, apple, and dried fruit. The taste begins with significant vanilla and brown sugar, followed by a finish of honey and dried fruit, with a hint of orange peel. There's perhaps a faint trace of smoke. It's quite sweet, almost artificially so. I wouldn't be surprised if some sweetener, particularly vanilla sweetener, was added. Nevertheless, it's surprisingly easy to drink. I'm uncertain about other options available at a similar price point from a Nepali liquor store, but I'm confident there are less appealing choices. For some reason, this strikes me as comparable to Jameson Black Barrel, perhaps slightly less so.