Appearance: 0.2, Pale Straw

Nose: Nice white fruit bouquet, white grapes, apple, peach, pear, lychee. Quite floral as well.

Taste: Oaky dryness hit the sides of the tongue on the arrival, the floral and fruity elements from the nose continue into the taste. I get lychee, apple, pear, honeysuckle, vanilla, heather, honey. Really bursting with layers of fruitiness, backed up by a nice floral accent.

Finish: Not prolonged, with lingering white fruit, and some oaky spice. Fairly short.

Notes: On the whole, I have been relatively unimpressed with Japanese whisky thus far. My limited exposure has involved drams which seem over-engineered, lacking depth, and lacking power in the finish. This whisky legitimately impressed me. It is a multi-layered white fruit bomb with a great floral accent. The fruit is complex, rather than coming across as a “one-note” whisky. This one, like the other Japanese whiskies I’ve tried, is sadly lacking power in the finish, which pulled it down a few points. Otherwise, this is a great dram!

Score: 87/100