Hakushu 12 is Suntory's other flagship aged single malt, from a distillery set in a forest at altitude, bottled at 43% ABV, lightly peated. Its signature is freshness: green apple, cut grass, mint, cucumber, a wisp of smoke, an elegant clean character that's unlike any Scotch. Like its sibling Yamazaki 12, it was once fair value and is now a casualty of the Japanese-whisky boom, sitting at £120 to £190 in the UK for a whisky that, on flavour alone, would be a £45 to £60 bottle anywhere else.

The light peat plus the green, herbaceous profile makes it the most distinctive of the affordable-tier Japanese flagships. It is genuinely lovely whisky. It is also, at current prices, a purchase you make for the experience and the brand, not for value.

Buy this if you want the most distinctive Japanese flagship and price is no object. Skip it on value; a Talisker 10 gives you a peated-with-an-edge whisky for a third of the price. The right price is £120 to £170. Above £190 you're funding the hype cycle.