N: crisp apple, honey and cereal. Look hard enough and there is something like strawberries and citrus. P: creamy full body, wood tannins, fruity sweetness and dark toffee. A very slight hint of smoke. There’s a dry bitterness that is vaguely reminiscent of burnt coffee. F: crisp, lemon/citrus, light pepper and tannins. All wrapped up in burnt brown sugar. Single malts going into this blend allegedly come from Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries and grain from Chita. I get elements of these individuals, but there is (as is the point of blends) a different direction and enhancement that happens: strawberries, tannins, and brown sugar are all different directions to the single malts that I find here. A complexity to this bottle is here that will reward you if you work for it. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is an easy whisky though, and I’m not convinced I fully appreciate or understand it either, the bitter note especially isn’t bad, but it challenges me in a way that I can’t fully decide if I’m a fan of. I suppose I’ll need to have more…. Distiller whisky taste #55 Bottle kill update 06/09/2022 As this has aged a little has changed. There is the slightest oak spice on the nose along with a slight acidity. Some of the florals (strawberries) have faded away. The palate remains the same creamy oaked texture and malty bitter coffee-mocha with dark toffee. Still very good at being minimalist and very to the point in its flavour profile. The finish, medium and tending towards short. Tannic spices l, burnt malty sugar and perhaps a gingeryness that I missed before or recognised as citrus. Perfectly enjoyable, and as I kill this bottle I am also saving myself a 30 ml sample just Incase I need to remind myself why I won’t buy this again. It’s just not memorable enough to be >AUD $210