Taster

Nose: Toasty, oaky, extractive: spices, hot sawdust, nutmeg, apple skin butterscotch, pine.

Palate: The weight of the spirit manages to cope with the lashings of oak. Good weight and power. Red fruits, cherry, leafy.

Finish: Oaky.

Comment: A lot of oak on the nose, but has good balance.

Score: 7.8

Taster

Nose: Very dry, leafy and earthy.

Palate: Light but firm and smooth. Dry. Like leaves of cilantro or garden mint on a crème brûlée. Some vanilla, some oakiness.

Finish: Spicy but soothing.

Comment: A very enigmatic malt. Lighter in body but drier and more assertive in flavour than Yamazaki. A digestif.

Score: 8.5