Valinch & Mallet South Islay Shore 13yo The Peatyful Madness

Valinch & Mallet is an independent bottler I recently discovered. I couldn't pass up this beautiful bottle because it's so striking. On one side, there's a super elegant, expensive-looking engraving that can only be described as "super fancy". On the other side is a painting called "The Peat(y)ful madness", a cartoonish work of art depicting a large duck with a spirit still, a unicorn, a wound on the duck's belly from which US dollars are falling, and other irrational drawings. This was created by Laurina Paperina, an Italian painter known for her exaggerated cartoons of her 80s and 90s idols, always including a duck representing herself. It's incredible. Bottled at 52.7% ABV, this is a "South Islay Shore" whisky, matured in a single Caroni Rum Cask. Only 292 bottles were produced. (For context, Caroni Rum is considered the "Port Ellen" of rums). Pretty neat stuff. The nose is as bipolar as the bottle. Cigarettes, brown sugar, burnt grass, ashes, gunpowder, and raisins. The rum profile is prominent. After a first sip, it gave me fireworks, vanilla, and impalpable sugar. The third aroma evoked a "Laphroaig" sensation: povidone and medicinal notes, like lotion for burnt skin. The palate is pure perfection. The most beautiful raisin note, like pure raisin juice. Rum, figs, molasses, and red pepper. The second sip offered strawberries and red fruit juice, plus sugarcane. It's also peaty. The aftertaste is awesome, a perfect conclusion to an outstanding dram. Red peppers, meat, salt. It's like a BBQ. A third sip revealed a hint that this must be Laphroaig, as it resembled a fresh can of tennis balls and a pair of new socks. Overall, this was a fantastic whisky. Everyone at my tasting event loved it. I now need another bottle, and they are very hard to find. It's part of a collection of 4 expressions, and I assure you I will search exhaustively until I find them all. My score for this marvel is 97 out of 100.