The nose starts with a mix of lightly soured tropical fruits, roasted bell peppers, and mild black pepper spice then high percentage dark chocolate and toasted walnuts followed by mandarin orange, sour cherries and pears that transitions to anise, cloves and leather with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a mild bitter spice that quickly fades to a toasted marshmallow, dark chocolate mocha and walnuts followed by dehydrated mango, bananas foster and grilled pineapple rings that transitions to cloves, ginger, anise and a mild black pepper spice with low ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a fruit smoothie of mango, banana, orange and pineapple along with light spices of anise, cloves and a mild black pepper spice. I’m pleasantly surprised that for a whisky marketed to make cocktails out of that this is quite enjoyable neat with a balance of tropical fruits, light vegetable and mild spices. The nose has a mild youthful sourness to it that doesn’t carry over to the taste that is on the thinner side and starts slightly on the bitter side but fades quickly to allow those tropical fruits, nuts and spices to come through before a fantastic creamy tropical fruit and light spiced finale. At a price of $40, this is a rare steal in today’s whisky market that I think most would really enjoy and is a great start to my mini Kavalan series. Thanks @ContemplativeFox for the generous sample.