Nose

Immediate complexity. Cheddar cheese, cream, but also a firm nutty quality. A touch of burlap, smoke and then with water it shifts into sandalwood, citrus, pineapple, pine.

Palate

Dances in the mouth, moving from spice into flowers then to smoke, which builds subtly.

Finish

Long, mixing spice and sweetness.

Comment

This has classic Japanese finesse (and excellent viscimetry). Great whisky is about balance and this has it...in diamonds, not spades.