Taste: 1 oz. neat in glen cairn at room temp. then 2 drops water. Nose: (4) Initially out of the bottle I couldn't find a discernable nose. Takes a little coaxing and some air but patience pays dividends as after 5 mins. it blooms. You inhale grape jam, peanuts, and honeysuckle. Really good balance between sweet and floral. Palate: (4) Rich and creamy. The peanuts even out to a peanut brittle. The "jaminess" is still there and pepper kicks in on the back palate. The pepper was unexpected as the nose and initial taste give no hint of the back end. As quick as it comes is as fast as it leaves. A decent flavor pop. Finish: (4.25) Finish stood out for me. As delicate as this whisky initially smells and upon its initial palate is as rugged as the finish is. The finish is all Beam. Overall: Pleasant surprise to me. I am not in the know on Japanese whisky and the whole blending thing made me a skeptic, but if this is the wave of the future, I say thumbs up! Five stars for interesting as this one is a bit of chameleon so I bumped the overall to 4.25. Starts out gentle, kicks you in the taste buds like a Bookers albeit at much lower proof, but remains sophisticated. I like it. Good pick