Yamazaki 18 Year

A sample gifted by bourbonjosh24. Nose: Sweet with some sherry funk, dark berries, a little bit of smoke, some herbal notes, and a background yeasty smell. Flavor: Sweet with dark berries and caramelized sugars. More yeasty funky sherry notes. Light oak up front. Finish: Heavy oak with some more light smokey notes and just a little bit of barrel spice. Overall I liked this but wouldn't seek it out. A little too mild for me or rather I found the smoke to be out of balance and too forward masking the sherry notes that I ordinarily really enjoy. For an 18 year aged product I think maybe this needed more time in barrel and less smoke.

good