Nose: Temple incense, sandlewood, brown sugar, orange, oak, tinned pears, banana. A lot of influence from the Mizunara(Japanese Oak) casks.
Palate: Fruit and nut mix. Banana, sandlewood, honey and tobacco.
Finish: Short-medium on banana, vanilla, sandlewood, honey, cinnamon and tobacco. Smooth and balance.
Last Word: Best batch I’ve tried and a reminder that it can be beneficial to try these ‘standards’ over different years.

Rating: 87/100

Nose: Wild flowers, asian incense, vanilla, peach fuzz, bees wax, lemon sherbert, creamy oak, parafin, raisins. Elegant and aromatic.
Palate: Creamy, then sweet spices of nutmeg and cinnamon. Wild flowers, asian incense, vanilla, pecan pie, anise, dragonfruit, camomile tea, macadamia nuts.
Finish: Wild flowers, incense, sweet tobacco, bees wax, pecan pie, menthol and a little drying wood.
Last Word: Unique and gets better with every sip.

Rating: 89/100

Nose: A bucket load of raisins, currants and sultanas. Black cherry liqueur. orange jus injected oak, cherry chocolate, prunes, stewed rhubarb, merlot, oak, beef stock cubes and menthol. Expressive.
Palate: A sweet spice attack. Rhubarb, prunes, cocoa, raisins, currants, blackcurrant jam, sweet orange, pecans. Brazil nuts. Peanut butter, butter menthols and some drying oak.
Finish: Medium length with a  sweet/dry combo of the flavours on the palate. Balanced and complex.
Last Word: For me this a benchmark for affordable sherry cask matured whisky. Even better than the 2011 version which I rated highly.

Rating: 91/100

Nose: Pineapple, stewed pears, white peaches, lime, banana custard, vanilla, unsalted cashews, oak.
Palate: Coconut, creamed corn, stewed pears, lime, pepper (lots), ginger, nutmeg, vanilla.
Finish: Medium length on coconut, apple sauce, bees wax, vanilla, nutmeg, pepper and ginger.
Last Word: Fruit and spices, what’s not to like? A few points better in my opinion than the 2011 release.

Rating: 87/100

Nose: A lot more vanilla than than the 2011 release. Lemon barley, grapefruit, apricots, butterscotch, nutmeg, measured oak, varnish, wood spices.
Palate: Apricots, pecans, oak, wood spices, vanilla, malt, nutmeg.
Finish: Shortish with apricots, grapefruit, pecans and wood spices dominating.
Last Word: More typical of a bourbon cask matured whisky than the 2011 release with it’s heavy tropical fruit notes and flavours.
Rating: 85/100

Nose: Dry and spiced Sherry over high roast Java. Plum jam, demerara rum, soft licorice, chocolate, menthol, cigar leaf, leather satchel, soy sauce, soft  oak.
Palate: Follows the nose quite closely with some big sweet spices and balancing tannins.
Finish: Long and mouth coating.
Last Word: If you are a lover of sherried whiskys, this is a must. There is a number of different casks and ages for this series.

Rating: 93/100
*Update 16/2/2012: Nearing the end of this bottle and it has developed a smoky element as well.

Nose: Strap yourself in for one hell  of a ride. This one has bonkers peat. Forget any Islay medicinal notes, this is sweet, dry, earthy, oaky peat. Subtle it is not.  Hang on! Is something coming through. No, my mistake,  just more peat.

Palate: This is the only whisky I need water  with. Neat: This is powerful stuff, peat bomb to  the max. Some heavy duty spice develops and a little oak. Water brings out the same lychee and cherry blossom notes  on the nose and palate that you will also find in this one’s ‘little brother’ The Cask of Hakushu Heavily Peated 1993. Here, it barely makes a dint in the peat though. There is a peanut oil  oiliness to the mouth feel. Finish: Spicy, hot, peaty. Comments: I absolutely love it!!

Rating: 93/100