Nikka just make beautiful stuff, and this whisky is no exception. A very smoky and super pleasant dram, bottled in a very simplistic decanter. Its all flavor, not marketing. This "pure malt" means Blended malt, a legal definition everybody used till 2005 when Johnnie Walker messed up things a little, forcing the Scotch Whisky Association to held the term "Blended Malt" as the legal one for a mixture of single malts from different distilleries without grain whisky on the recipe, just barley. This baby is bottled at 43%abv, beautiful amber color. On the nose, it is pretty aromatic. Hay, Dry brown Grass, Old Orange peel. Grassy Vanilla. Burnt dry grass and Malted barley. On the palate, it is a little straightforward but pretty pleasant. Orange and Hay mostly. Spicy pepper, super balanced dram. Malted barley. Aftertaste is just amazing. Just two notes, but very clean, very enjoyable: tobacco and a light smoke. Delicious. Overall it is so good that my scoring system said 87, but i am giving it one more point only because of how pleasant and easy drinkable it is. 88 over 100, Kanpai!