Long i have waited to try the real competitor of the almighty Hibiki 21. Since the day that Japanese whisky was first made, Masetaka Taketsuru's name was carved in gold. You can even say he was the Nikola Tesla of Japanese whisky. Having said that, this "pure malt" (blended malt) is one of Nikka's jewels. But, was it good? It was. Bottled at 43%abv, copper color. On the nose, incredible apple as soon you uncork it. Definitively some oakiness due to the 21 year maturation; cinnamon. Amazing brownies aroma. Old fruits, old sweet wine aroma. Smells thick. Old blackberries. Some very elegant floral notes. Orange peel. Lemon and other citrus notes has appeared after 3 minutes. Even with all this complexity, it feels like everything is too packed, it needs more time to open. Red fruit syrup. After a first sip, the sweetness exploded. Orange caramel. Sawdust. A third sip gave me a burnt hay aroma, maybe a little peat has been used in here. On the palate, it is very sweet at first. Then a mixture of gooseberries and salt. The oakiness is present in the palate, very salty in a nice way. Acid and sweet. Acid oranges, tangerine. Peppery. The oranges here have become very sweet and sugary. Very smooth. Aftertaste is mostly grassy. Ginger and salt. Very oaky. Elegant. Medium long finish. It has a nice "bite", you find yourself chewing the aftertaste which is actually just a sensation. Dry, very rewarding. There is this "second aftertaste" that appears in your palate after 10 seconds, that resembles cotton candy and feels like sugar syrup stuck in your mouth. Is a ghost caramel that now lurks in your palate. The empty glass aroma is all about sawdust. Overall, this is a fantastic, amazingly crafted whisky. The palate is not perfect and that is where it lost a couple of points, but really this dram gets close to perfection. Very elegant, very complex but at the same time easy to drink and suitable to any kind of whisky enthusiast or plain drinker. It is worth every cent. My score for it is 96 over 100. KANPAI!