Jota Tanaka, Kirin’s chief blender, utilizes all the versatility of the complex production at Fuji Gotemba Distillery to create this truly superb non-chill filtered whisky. The dark vanilla, toffee brittle, macadamia nuts, heady incense, and singed oak have instant appeal. Sweet popcorn smothered in milk chocolate rotates through cherry, damson, and red apple, settling on a palate of toffee apple spiked with pepper and licorice. Tingling spices on a drying finish.
92 points, Jonny McCormick, Whisky Advocate (Fall 2017)