In the bottle: Nebatama starts off with some nice earthy before fading into rich layers of vanilla, caramel, lavender and sweet potato; there is a sweetness at the end that reminds me of candies like smarties or necco wafers. There is a lot to like on the nose and this certainly added to its drinkability, as I write this the bottle is almost empty, so that is a good sign.

On the rocks: Sweet with a nice bite, nothing off-putting but just adds a nice balance to that first hit of sweetness, for me at least, sweet potato shochu flavors are on full display. All of the typical notes are there, vanilla, a little burnt caramel, potato, and most interesting was the nice black pepper on the finish which ties everything together nicely. From a drinkability standpoint, Nebatama is smooth and soft in the mouth, the sweetness does come on a bit strong, not heavy handed, but definitely there, luckily those black pepper notes at the end evens out the experience.

水割り Diluted with water

4:1, 3:2 ratio: A little water and opens up Nebatama a bit more, with some of the bigger impact notes becoming less intense which allows the more subtle flavors a chance to appear.