Many years ago I was in a liquor store in Texas on the weekend, as I usually was, browsing over their assortments when I saw this and the 18 sitting on the shelves. The 12 was only 40 dollars and the 18 selling for 100, without knowing the future or anything about Japanese whisky, I decide to go for the cheaper option to give it a try. All I remember from that time was that I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel the need for a second bottle or need to spend 100 to try the 18. I really wish I had, as I hear great things about the 18, but not for the price of 900 today. Many years have gone by since I tasted this one and decided I might have just been too young to appreciate it with the hype around it and a friend was kind enough to procure one for me at 120. So let’s see if my palate has evolved since then and I can appreciate this better. The nose starts with a smoky quality, between fresh burnt matchsticks or ash then follows with some pickled ginger leading to sweeter notes of bubble gum, pineapple, honey, tangerine, anise, some breakfast cereal and poached pears with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium viscosity that starts sweet with big league chew bubble gum leading to fruits of pineapple, green apple, lemon, then some breakfast cereal before the smoke notes come in with that burnt matchstick or ash and spices of pickled ginger, sage, sandalwood with a light ethanol burn that finishes medium length that’s dry and spicy with pickled ginger, watered down wasabi or horseradish, sage, sandalwood, pineapple, lemon and green apple. This is a nice whisky that has blown up in price just like many overhyped names. I brought this with me on vacation along with a WR double oak, and the double oak didn’t make it home. The spice notes on the finish ruin the whisky for me as it’s just overpowering the fruits and they don’t balance each other out.