I reviewed this one about a year ago. Gave it a 4, but was pretty non-descript in my otherwise. Saw it on sale a month back and decided to bring this one back into the home bar. It was my first Japanese whisky back then, let's see a year of experience and an updated rating system change my original score. Nose: Young and grainy. Lots of cereal. Big malt and toffee notes. Orange peel, green apple, vanilla, and honey. A pinch of black pepper and basil. Some almond and even shortbread cookie. Surprisingly a bit astringent. Palate: More orange and now some grapefruit and lemon. Much more bitter than I remember. Big cereal grains. More vanilla and honey sweetness, with an artificial green apple Jolly Rancher note. A bit of milk chocolate and more malt. Both bitter and sweet, as well as young and grainy. Finish: Orange and grapefruit still come through. There's more milk chocolate, vanilla, and honey, and then a burst of cinnamon, pepper, and oak. I get a soapy note somewhere along the way, and roasted nuts on the tail end. Moderate in length. Best part of the dram. Not quite how I remembered it. It's fine, and it offers solid VFM. When I wrote my last review, I wrote something to the effect of, "This was interesting enough to get me to explore the genre of Japanese of whisky." And it succeeded in doing so. After trying the Hibiki Harmony, I can't deny that that is head and shoulders above this one. To peg it at double the price of this Toki is fair in my opinion. This one hits it's mark at its price point and is worth a shot. Definitely a worthy gateway to Japanese whisky, as it was for me. Great choice if you're looking to get into Japanese whisky or if you just want to try something new and are on a budget. After a subsequent tasting, I was definitely a bit harsh on this one. Must have been an off night. Bumping the 3 to a 3.5.