In the bottle: Nebatama opens with some nice earthy notes before unfolding into rich, layered notes of vanilla, caramel, lavender, and heavy in the right way sweet potato. Additionally, there is a  candy-like sweetness lingers at the end that reminds me a bit of Smarties or Necco wafers which if you are familiar gives a cool nostalgic touch. As I write this, the bottle is nearly empty which is a clear sign of how enjoyable and drinkable this bottle has proven to be.

On the rocks: Sweet to start with a pleasant bite of freshness that provides good balance to the initial sweetness rush, certainly nothing off-putting, just enough edge to keep things lively. As this opens up a bit, the Sweet potato takes full command with a range of supporting notes of vanilla, subtle burnt caramel, and cacao. Also, there is a bit of black pepper on the finish, this subtle prickly spice ties everything together beautifully and prevents the sweetness from dominating the total experience a bit too much. As the ice melts a bit more, Nebatama mellows considerably and while nothing specifically dominates, there is a soft lavender that start showing up toward the end, giving this a lot of room to be enjoyed.

水割り Diluted with water

Ratio 4:1: A little water opens Nebatama quite a bit and softens the bigger impact notes (sweetness and that prickly pepper) and allowing subtler vanilla, caramel, lavender, and earthy undertones to emerge more clearly. At this ratio the overall profile becomes a bit lighter without losing core character, making this a good way to stretch out this bottle.