Taster

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.

Score: 9

Taster

Nose: Tangy (alcohol tickles nostrils). Lots of cereal notes. Cooked grains. Oatcakes. Cowshed. Creosote with fresh mint aromas. Lemon juice.

Palate: A very short sweet start, bursting out into a spicy circus of aromas. Quite sharp but challenging. Less creosote on the palate.

Finish: Concentrated, citrussy, minty and spicy.

Comment: Water undoubtedly tames the alcohol but alters the freshness and enticing natural sharpness of that bold whisky.

Score: 7.8