Tastes

This is one of my favorite Japanese whiskies and is by far the best bang for the buck at under ¥3000 (around $28) here in Japan. It honestly competes with my Macallan Rare Cask which is like 10x more expensive. Its more complex and balanced than the Macallan but has a lighter and less rich mouth feel and shorter finish. Notes wise Distillers review in spot on for the most part.

*This is after having the bottle opened for about a year. Nose is loads of heather honey, with notes of apple, fresh fruits, caramel, oats, citrus and a bit of oak eventually appearing. Mouth is cereal, honey, and fruit giving way to bitter woody tannins before hitting a high spicy note on the mid pallet before mellowing out into a relatively short finish.

Skip this unless you plan to use it in cocktails. There isn’t really anything to this whisky. Literally, there is no mouthfeel to the point that it seemed like I was drinking water. The nose is decent with sweet fruits, spice and a touch of smoke. While the pallet is adds in some toffee, caramel and woody tanins. The finish is just like the mouth feel and near none existent.