Golden sweet honey with crisp apples on the nose. Dark cherry and sherried notes hit my palate immediately, dark chocolate and just a wisp of pest. Mostly phenolic peat for me on the first sip. Adding a drip of water just brings out more honey notes. It’s more of the same with the drip of water for me. Adding more water just brings out the smell of the malt mash when you take the distillery tour. The hakushu brings dark baked apple pie notes, whereas the Yamazaki brings the darker chocolate and sherried notes all in the nose.