Nikka from the Barrel

Matured from grain and malt whisky, the liquids are re-casked to marry the spirits and flavours.From there its out of the casks and into the bottles. Nice to see

• Nose: marzipan, toasted cereal, banana and apricots, peanuts, fudge and cedar wood some grapefruit zing and a strong grain note, but not negative at all. With water grain note is out. More mandarin and orange peel than grapefruit, much more banana and apricots.

• Pallet: rich and smooth, a real butter caramel, maple syrup and nougat, then it crisps up a bit with cereal grains, cocoa cedar from the nose and that quirky bubble-gum, also some pears lurking around. With water raspberry and nutmeg join the smorgasbord of tastes.

• Finish: chili, some real heat then butterscotch, cedar remain till the end and vanilla ice cream. With water much more wood in the finish

It's a mystery why more whisky's aren't bottled "from the barrel" because when they are they tend to be rather good. This is no exception.

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