There was a time when New Zealand had a few distilleries. All were then dismantled, with the equipment then sold to make rum in Fiji. I'm a bit conflicted towards this particular one. I actually bought it when I was on vacation in Australia and NZ. These bottles are a rarity now, since it's from a closed distillery. So...I finally wanted to open it this year, specifically this past Saturday for my birthday. Every year, I try to open a special bottle on either mine or my wife's bday. But---I'm conflicted in giving this a 3 Star rating because you really are tasting a piece of history, despite maybe not being up to par with some of its other down-under brethren from either NZ or Aus. Nose is sweet and caramel-y. On the palette, you get the full force of the wine cask. Red wine, specifically port. Even though the casks used were French red wine, I'm getting Portuguese tawny. It's definitely worthwhile to try if you ever spot it in the wild, since it's a rare piece of history, but...it's no Port Ellen , Karuizawa or Brora. What it is instead is a taste of a bygone era, and instead of ratings, just enjoy it for that. ( side note---add water...else it's just too winey). EDIT 11/27: I retasted this over the weekend. I stand corrected....this time I let it "breathe" for a while, close to 15 minutes, and added plenty of ice. It really opens up the aromas and flavors. I taste oranges, roasted nuts, and cloves. It's amazing the difference if you let it rest out in the glass and add sufficient ice.