Osaka

Whisky #405: Suntory Crest 12 Year Old Blended Whisky

2 Comments
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

img_6570.jpgSuntory Crest 12 Year Old Blended Whisky. Osaka, Japan. ABV: 43%. Tasted at Tokyo Bird, $22.

Colour: My good mate Damo (his dram with the ball of ice) described it as topaz. When asked if he would say a lustrous, sparkling topaz, his response was “Only if you blow bubbles in it.”

Nose: Buttery; caramelised figs, some creamy sherry notes. Very soft and velvety.

Palate: Burnt caramel, quite meaty. Savoury almost but counterbalanced with sweetness, like caramelised onions cooked on the BBQ with balsamic. Smooth entry, medium bodied.

Finish: A drying finish with gentle spice and cinnamon sugar; a long, slow gradual fade.

Comments: It’s Suntory time, and I like it! A lot more depth of character than other blends, particularly some Japanese blends. I’d be keen to get my hands on a bottle of this to add to the collection. It was my first time checking out Tokyo Bird in Surry Hills, very impressed with their range of Japanese whisky.

I’ll leave you with this gem, a Suntory Crest ad from 1992. If a whisky gets Sean Connery’s tick of approval, it must be decent…or perhaps the marketing budget had deep pockets. He doesn’t say a word, just a cock of the left eyebrow and a knowing head nod to your Doberman are all that’s required to indicate your enjoyment apparently. Gold.

Whisky #276: Suntory Hibiki 21 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

IMG_3911Suntory Hibiki 21 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky. Osaka, Japan. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at home, $120 (375mL bottle).

Colour: Rich, dark amber.

Nose: Very soft straw, caramel and toffee notes.

Palate: Very delicate; buttery toffee, vanilla, a hint of cane – super smooth.

Finish: Such a gentle fade, like a piece of silk lightly touching your skin.

Comments: Outstanding. A huge step up from both the Hibiki 12 and the Hibiki 17. I’m quite confident that I can name this as the best blend I’ve had so far this year, a shame it’s only a half-size bottle!

Whisky #147: Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

HibikiSuntory Hibiki 12 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky. Osaka, Japan. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at Old Faithful Bar & BBQ, $15.

Colour: Honied gold.

Nose: Not an overly powerful nose, perhaps unsurprising for a 12 year old blend. Subtle oak, honey & vanilla.

Palate: Smooth entry, mild flavour intensity. Subtle oak & sweetness again.

Finish: Short-medium.

Comments: It’s quite mild, a little too mild for my liking. It’s very drinkable, but just doesn’t have the depth or flavour complexity that I really like in a whisky. I prefer the Hibiki 17 year old which has more going for it flavour-wise, but even that’s a little too smooth and thin for me. If you’re after a good Japanese blend, I would recommend you try the Nikka From the Barrel instead, top drop.

Whisky #122 – Suntory Pure Malt 1991

Leave a Comment
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

IMG_2923Suntory Pure Malt 1991. Osaka, Japan. ABV: 43.0%. Tasted at Canton Lounge, $30.

Colour: Burnt orange colour. A little hard to tell accurately with the red lanterns lighting the room.

Nose: Quite woody, but not smoky. A touch of medicinal scent, also a hint of fresh flowers.

Palate: Reminds me of the taste of a the bamboo reed when I used to play the saxophone. Very smooth entry, surprisingly so. Not the big flavour and heat bomb that I was expecting from the nose. Plenty of wood.

Finish: Lots of complex woody flavours linger for ages, as does a moderately gentle heat & some sweet after notes like burnt buttery caramel flavours. Mainly at the front of the palate.

Comments: It has filtered through bamboo charcoal apparently, which imparts quite a unique flavour upon the whisky. Though having learnt this, it’s not as smoky as you might think.

Whisky #42: Suntory Hibiki 17 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky

2 Comments
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

IMG_2606Suntory Hibiki 17 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky. Osaka, Japan. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at Laneway Lounge, $20.

Colour: Pale gold. Shit this is getting hard to come up with new ways to describe shades of straw/gold/amber!

Nose: Hmmm, found it a little hard to describe the nose on this one. Ended up trying to come up with witty descriptions with my mate Tim who joined me on this tasting; we got sidetracked and finished a rather enjoyable dram without a) making suitable notes on the aromas, or b) coming up with anything suitably comical to make the cut onto this post.

Palate: Taste has a hint of dried apricots. And a hint of a taste of whisky.

Finish: Oily finish on the tongue, bit of heat.

Comments: Apparently there’s over 30 different single malts from Suntory’s three distilleries that went into this one. Not sure how you’d add 30 components of any drink or food and expect them to all have a significant influence on the final flavour. A nice drop, but a little bit one dimensional for my tastes.