I received this as a gift; always happy to receive a decent bottle of whisky! However, I've found that Japanese whisky is pretty good but generally overpriced for what you get, especially given that they are all NAS now it seems. On inspection it looks young - light straw colour. Nose: Peat, but not smoke, is on the forefront. There are some honey and floral notes in the background here. This is a pretty decent nose and certainly more than I was expecting. Palate: Initially richer than I had expected. I had thought peat would be forefront but there is more honey and sweetness immediately upon tasting. Some brininess is present here and there is also some leather before the peat enters the equation adding some nice depth without being overwhelming. There is some alcohol burn here too, likely revealing a youngish age. Finish: Surprisingly long. There is definitely some tanniny tingle on the sides of the tongue early in the finish. Subsequently, the back of the palate starts to broadcast some bitter earthiness from the peat. This lingers for some time and is quite enjoyable. Again, there's not much smoke, just an earthy peatiness. Overall, this is good and I enjoyed it. However for $95 CAD when I can get a bottle of HP 12 for $58.99 I will choose HP 12 all day. My problem with Japanese whiskies is that they are good but this confirms for me that they are WAY overpriced.