@Slainte-Mhath Nice, glad you got hold of and are enjoying a NZ offering. I often find i do an initial taste then buy a bottle and doesn't quite live up so good it was the other way for you :-)

@Soba45 I finally managed to open and review my bottle of Thomson Manuka Wood Smoke. After spending some time with it, I found it even better than I thought. The distillery manager informed me that it is indeed 3 years old (not a rule in NZ, as I was told!), and that the spirit was matured in small 20L ex-bourbon barrels. Young but not harsh is definitely true, and I didn't regret buying a whole bottle. A pleasant surprise!

@Slainte-Mhath Yeah I did that years ago with this bottle when it first came to market and from memory people enjoyed it. Whilst I still like sampling a wide variety of stuff these days there is just so much great stuff out there I just prefer to stick to buying really good bottlings for sharing, plus I still have way too much in reserve. Doesn't need to be fancy or expensive but just what I believe (rightly or wrongly) to be really good.

@Soba45 I'd certainly drink it, and share it with friends who have never heard of this distillery. I wouldn't buy a bottle if I thought it was undrinkable.

@Slainte-Mhath Yeah but also it just seems a waste in terms of $, storage space and the environment to buy it if I'm not going to drink it.

@Soba45 Well, sometimes it is worth supporting a young distillery by buying a bottle, even if it is not a great value. I have just started buying some Norwegian Single Malts, all of which are rather expensive and young. However, I think it's not all about sipping 25-year-old Islay malts, is it?

@Slainte-Mhath Yeah it was definitely in the 'interesting but wouldn't drink my way through a whole bottle' type of thing. Good you got to try it though :-)

@Soba45 I spoke with the distillery manager at Oslo Whiskyfestival and got to try the 'Manuka Wood Smoke' whisky. I really like the flavor profile, it's young but not harsh as you pointed out in your review, with a unique smoky element. I actually consider to buy a bottle, and my first impression is in the 3.5 stars range as well.

@Slainte-Mhath Ah interesting, didn't realise stuff from here travelled so far!

@Soba45 Oddly enough, a few of these bottles are now being sold in Norway. I'll have the chance to taste it next week at Oslo whiskyfestival, so maybe I will give it a try...?

@PBMichiganWolverine Not from memory but it was a large night so things are a bit hazy :-). Just a different type of smoke than the usual but I can't remember any better descripters off hand sorry!

Manuka honey is a tad more bitter than regular honey. Was this bitter?