Suntory Whisky Suntory Toki

Nose: light and sweet with honey and herbal accents. Spirity, with alcohol fumes. Very slight mint. Sort of halfway between blended Scotch and herbal liqueur.

Taste: light-bodied with immediate honey sweetness, then the hard bite of young grain whisky. Some vanilla and icing sugar. A bit of water smooths out the rough edges and brings more sweetness.

Finish: has a bitter edge to it. Again, a touch of water helps in this regard.

Balance: an interesting if overpriced whisky (it's Japanese, after all). Intended more as a mixer and I can see why, yet it has enough character to position it a notch above the entry-level blended Scotches it compares to. Certainly the least impressive Japanese I've had.