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

Nose: Tempura batter, teak, leather, toffee, potato skins, fresh baked biscuits, banana. Classy.
Palate: Honey over baked oats, creme brulee, silky oak, leather,banana, cola, tobacco leaf, nutmeg, nouget. Very smooth.
Finish: Honey, smooth oak, butter, cashews, tobacco leaf, cola, maples syrup, balanced.

Last Word: A lovely affordable Yamazaki, this bottle is emptying fast..
Rating: 86/100

Nose: Oak and toffee. Wine and brine.
Palate: As expected, very punchy at 58%. This one will need water as the hot spices at cask strength overwhelm everything else. With water, this whisky becomes more creamy and custardy. Not particularly malty.
Finish: With water, it is warming, of good length, creamy, spicy with a hint of wine.
Last Word: This won’t be on the repeat purchase list, but it was fun and worth trying.
Rating: 80/100

Nose: Not great. A little sherry and oak. Label says it is fully matured in Sherry casks. Doesn’t taste like it. Also, plasticine, glue and cheap brandy.
Palate: A little better than the nose–bread dough, some lime and tangerine. Then ruined again by the plasticine and glue.
Finish: Bitter, with plasticine and, thankfully, short.
General comment: According to The Whisky Exchange, this was bottled in the 70s. Yamazaki has clearly come a long way since then.
Rating: 62/100

Nose: Big sherry, mixed berries, sweet oak, red grapes, vanilla wafer.
Palate: Nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, sherry, medium-weight dark chocolate, figs, berries, a hint of pine, and just enough tannins to balance the sweetness.
Finish: Clean, warming, spicy, with dark cherry, marzipan, blueberry, mint and again, just the right amount of oak and tannins.
Last Word: One to spend 30 minutes nosing. Perfectly balanced and superb.
Rating: 93/100 Points

Nose: Smooth oak, biscuity, vanilla bean, apricot, nectarine.
Palate: Sweet spice, vanilla, sweet orange peel, apricot, vanilla, fresh cream, licorice, oak.
Finish: Again smooth oak, warming sweet spice, creamy, licorice, sweet orange and apricot.
Rating: 88/100

Nose: Juicy. Tropical fruit salad infused crisp oak. Vanilla, passion fruit, lychee, pineapple, pear, strawberry, blueberry bagels. Some hay, bran, cane sugar, currants.
Palate: Lovely. Big sweet-spice hit balanced with a little salt. The spicyness gives a bigger mouth feel than The Hakushu Bourbon Barrel. More of the tropical fruit salad with some added butteriness. Pecans and sweet pear.
Finish: Medium on tropical fruits, blueberry bagels, pecan pie, hint of menthol and well integrated oak.
General comment: Recommended
Rating: 89/100

Nose: Dry sherry, oak, raisins, dark cherry chocolate, figs, Arnott’s mint slice biscuits, leather, blackberry jam, bran, ginger.
Palate: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, figs, brazil nuts, leather, a mix of dark jams, mint, dry sherry, bran, oak. Nicely punchy.
Finish: Medium length. An excellent balance of sweet and dry flavours.
Last Word: I’ve had the 2009 and this is a few points better. A superbly crafted whisky.
Rating: 90/100

Nose: Marmalade, fruit cake, malt, oak, menthol, brown sugar. Sounds sweet but there is a bitter element as well. Water enhances the menthol and oak.
Palate: Cherry ripes. Blackcurrant jubes, menthol, nutmeg, brown sugar, bitter oak, marzipan. Water brings out a lot of hot chili spice.
Finish: Long, but a little unbalanced and on the bitter side.
General comment: Water helps balance this somewhat, adding milk chocolate and blackcurrant that fades to menthol.

Last Word: I like this more some days than others. Score below reflects today’s tasting, which wasn’t its best. I could be 2 or 3 points better on a good day.
Rating: 86/100

Nose: Rich oak over bitter tannins. Pine, dry sherry, varnished wood, a little camphor. Water brings out orange and grapefruit.
Palate: Savoury shapes, clean sherry, slightly bitter orange, pepper, a milk/dark chocolate combo. Water adds fruit tingles.
Finish: Well-balanced chocolate over fruit cake and oak. Drying. Water adds the fruit tingles again which lessens the dryness.
Last Word: Well resolved for a 10-year-old.
Rating: 87/100