In the bottle: Not as big out of the bottle as some of the other bottles I have opened from Rokuchoshi; however, it does have a nice rich sweetness with hits of vanilla, cherry, dark chocolate and toasted rice. The alcohol takes a backseat here as well with a subtleness that really opens up with a little oxygen.

On the rocks: While the nose is not as big as some other bottles, once this hits the tongue there is no holding back, this time, cherry, dark chocolate and rice are really up front and rest nicely in the back of the mouth. The 38% alcohol makes itself known and not in a bad way, it shows up as a little black pepper on the back end. 

水割り Diluted with water

4:1, A little water really opens up the chocolate on this, reminds me of a cherry chocolate cake, also the vanilla makes an appearance on the finish which is nice as it adds a nice tie back to when I opened the bottle.

Paired with chocolate: Thailand 70% dark, peanut massaman curry chocolate, wow, the chocolate on its own does not have such a strong curry flavor, but when paired with Kodai Ikko, the result is amazing. The curry chocolate with ginger blends so well together, which allows the cherry, vanilla and other earthy notes to take center stage.