The short squat bottle with small mouth is a tribute to Industrial design . Shiny copper color. Good legs but doesn't show a lot of age. Initial note on the nose is chocolate, then burnt chocolate, followed by dried apricot & raisins. definitely benefits from a little water, much more than other cask strength whiskeys I've had. Big notes salt and brine on the tongue. overall I would take the Nikka Coffey over this. I'll be resampling this over the next few days to see the benefits from a little oxidation.