Nose: Dark chocolate and white raisins… complex, deep, and wonderful.
Palate: Silky leather, dark chocolate, and perhaps caramelized brûlée and a dash of cinnamon.
Finish: Beautiful, elegant, lingering, with a tad of citrus spice wafting in the air that opens more with a splash.
Nose: Dried fruit notes at the fore, soon joined by rich chocolate and a subtle nuttiness. Hints of struck match, anise, cinnamon and vanilla.
Palate: Dark chocolate, Seville orange, flaky pastry and crunchy fruits fresh from the orchard. Give it a minute and the anise on the NOSEcomes running back too.
Finish: More dark chocolate and drying spice.
Nose: From 20 inches away I’m getting banana bread and rich biscuity sweetness. Nose in. Old leather-bound book and Black Forest. Give it 2 seconds and it livens up with hot cherries, orange marzipan, cooked red apples and a touch of smoke. The banana bread theme continues. Infinite layers of complexity. Filled my heart with joy.
Palate: Extremely bitter and dusty at first, explodes with savoury Oxford marmalade, walnut shell, tobacco smoke and dried plum. Sweet wood smoke comes in… this is just silly good.
Finish: Cherry and bitter nut shell back. Sweet and smooth.
Nose: Burnt toast with a touch of iodine. Palate: Woodsmoke, dry oak tannins, tar, iodine and rich honeyed barley. A splash of water reveals sweet flambeed banana. Finised: Lingering whisps of smoke with toasted barley and iodine.
Nose: Classic Yamazaki strawberries and dried fruits with floral notes coming from the Mizunara cask whisky. Fragrant sandalwood and maybe coconut. Certainly a whisky where you could get lost in its nose!
Palate: The dried berries remain lively on the palate (it even develops some raspberry notes along the way), but they're dialled back a bit to make room for light oak, white peach and a small amount of spice.
Finish: Vanilla lasts and lasts, with spicy but sweet cinnamon acting as a final flourish.