Yamazaki Archives - Whisky a Day

Whiskies #480-483: Japanese Whisky Showdown

June 13, 2017 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Whiskies #480-483: Japanese Whisky Showdown.

I love it when friends travel overseas and bring back a bucketload of booze. My good friends Adam and Maria recently trekked to Japan and kindly shared this haul when I visited them on the weekend. Given it’s often a challenge to get Adam to shout his mates a drink at the best of times, this was an offer I wasn’t going to pass up!

Whisky #480: Suntory Yamazaki Distillery Single Malt Whisky No. 323317. Japan. ABV: 40%.

Colour: Pale straw, light amber.

Nose: Oaky, cane wicker. Sharp, not sweet or creamy.

Palate: Initial impression is that it’s much sweeter than the nose suggests. A very thin mouthfeel on the palate. Sweet and lemony, the mid-palate gets the joy – like a bullet shooting down the centre of your tongue.

Finish: Very short and crisp; not mouth coating. A slight citrus tang as it fades.

Comments: Maria thought it was an entry level whisky, which given they’ve just come back from tasting some amazing whiskies at the Yamazaki distillery and at bars all over Japan (e.g. Hibiki 30 Year Old), it’s hardly a surprise that this one doesn’t quite excite. For Adam, after a few sips it was growing on him, “I could sit here and have half a dozen of them.”

Whisky #481: Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select Blended Japanese Whisky. Japan. ABV: 43%.

Colour: Pale caramel.

Nose: Hokey pokey ice cream.

Palate: Earthy caramel. Buttery toffee; a rich caramel that keeps building in intensity.

Finish: Honey on toast.

Comments: For me, this was a refreshing step up in flavour and sweetness. Nothing too outrageous going on here, just a dangerously drinkable pretty straightforward whisky with plenty of flavour but not much punch.

Whisky #482: The Nikka 12 Year Old Blended Whisky. Japan. ABV: 43%.

Colour: Bright gold.

Nose: Roasted figs and panna cotta.

Palate: Sesame seed honey crisps. A bigger mouthfeel than the Hibiki. Adam comments that “it’s a bit sweeter, feels more solid.”

Finish: Slightly leathery, salty notes that emerge as the sweetness fades. Delicious, great balance too. Medium to long finish, blackcurrant lolly flavours – like a blackcurrant Soothers’ lozenge but without the menthol.

Comments: This was a step up again, a little more nuanced than the Hibiki. There’s a lot more going on here flavour-wise for you to sit back and enjoy.

Whisky #483: Kirin Fuji-Sanroku Tarujuku 50 Blended Japanese Whisky. Japan. ABV: 50%.

Colour: Dark amber; “an amber mist” according to Adam. Maybe his eyesight is just a bit foggy after the fourth whisky…

Nose: Adam picks up some vanilla cheesecake aromas – now he’s starting to get the hang of this whisky tasting caper! Well done mate. For me, it’s like opening a packet of Allen’s strawberries & cream lollies.

Palate: Caramel popcorn. Rich, oaty sweet notes – think brown sugar dissolved on a hot bowl of porridge.

Finish: A gentle, rich brown sugary fade. Chocolate biscuits as it fades.

Comments: For some, the prospect of a 50% ABV whisky can be a bit daunting – will it burn my throat? Will it be like accidentally having too much wasabi? Will I be able to taste anything? In the case of this drop, the Kirin Fuji-Sanroku Tarujuku 50 does none of these. It’s rich, syrupy and luscious – and definitely the standout whisky of this Japanese whisky showdown.

Whiskies #382-387: Scotch Malt Whisky Society Winter Tasting

August 13, 2015 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Whiskies #382-387: Scotch Malt Whisky Society Winter Tasting. Royal Automobile Club, Sydney. $85.

Since Whisky a Day only recently located from Perth to Sydney a month ago, the first SMWS tasting event was locked into the calendar. Excellently hosted by the SMWS Australian Cellar Master Andrew Derbidge, last night’s tasting was an overview of six of the Society’s latest releases.

Whisky #382: 64.54 Sweet and Tart, Subtle and Delicate. 10 year old bottling from Mannochmore Distillery. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 56.3%.

Colour: Pale straw.
Nose: Pine needles, wood chips, and sherbet.
Palate: Tangy lemon, peppery spice, with some cheesecake flavours to round off.
Finish: White pepper with a long, salty tingle and generous warmth around the mouth. Like the sensation of sucking the lemon after you’ve just downed a shot of good tequila. The oily warmth lingers longer than the flavours, but in a comforting way.

Whisky #383: 35.133 Mediterranean Maharaja goes Americana. 20 year old bottling from Glen Moray Distillery. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 55.8%.

Colour: Rich honey.
Nose: It’s a very bourbon-ish nose which hits you immediately. Fennel and spiced mead; sweet oaky notes with some time in the glass.
Palate: Spiced honey, cocoa, sultanas and spiced fruit toast.
Finish: Quite a short, drying finish with some savoury biscuit notes.

Whisky #384: 46.25 Soft, Elegant and Intensely Creamy. 21 year old bottling from Glenlossie Distillery. Speyside, Scotland. ABV: 46.4%.

Colour: Pale apple juice.
Nose: Fresh apples in a wet hessian sack. Ok, so I got fresh apples and I separately got some wet hessian notes, but seeing as the tasting was being conducted in the Royal Automobile Club where anoraks abound, I thought I’d better combine the two descriptors and really turn the wankiness up to 11. My eminent whisky tasting neighbour Dave picked up notes like walking past a makeup counter through a department store.
Palate: Baked pears, some sweet caramelised flavours too. A cool, creamy mouthfeel; reminds me of fruit salad atop a freshly baked pavlova.
Finish: Passionfruit syrup and vanilla ice-cream. Very light and delicate.
Comments: This was my favourite whisky if the night. Quite a low ABV for a cask strength bottling, but it’s just so easy to drink and keeps begging you back for more. So much so that I ordered a bottle so I could do precisely that.

Whisky #385: 119.14 Raspberry Imperial Stout. 11 year old bottling from Yamazaki Distillery. Japan. ABV: 53.9%.

Colour: Wow. Deep rich toffee. I started enjoying this one long before I picked up the glass.
Nose: It’s a huge sherry bomb, simply divine. It reminds me a lot of the nose you get from some Glendronach malts, particularly the Glendronach Allardice 18 year old and Glendronach 21 year old. Though it’s more intense and syrupy than you’ll find say on the Glendronach 15 year old.
Palate: Syrupy Christmas cake spice, oily mouthfeel. Yes that sounds quite stereotypical for a malt matured in ex sherry casks, but boy is this a fine example of the style. An amazing drop. Some dark chocolate and cherry notes come through too.
Finish: Paradoxically for a syrupy whisky, the finish is quite drying. Huge legs on the glass.
Comments: In a blind tasting, I would have picked this to be a Speyside malt as it is a fine example of the sherried malts so often produced from that region. Yamazaki have done brilliant work with this one.

Whisky #386: 66.66 Ginger Makes Fred Smile. 10 year old bottling from Ardmore Distillery. Highlands, Scotland. ABV: 61.9%.

Colour: Pale translucent copper; almost a rosey tinge.
Nose: Flame grilled steak, salted caramel and smoked salmon.
Palate: Smoked ham hock and beef jerky. It’s smokey with a hint of fruity sweetness; reminds me of a slice of juicy pineapple on the BBQ.
Finish: Super long and sumptuous.
Comments: Matured in a first fill white wine hogshead, which is both quite unusual but also an amazing choice for this malt. I enjoyed it so much I ordered a bottle on the spot.

Whisky #387: 3.234 Scallops Cooked on a Puffer Shovel. 16 year old bottling from Bowmore Distillery. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 57.5%.

Colour: Pure gold.
Nose: Caramel popcorn is the first thing that hits. Orange chocolate and soft straw notes too – like a handful of straw thrown on a campfire.
Palate: Salty blackcurrant pastilles and caramelised bacon. Hmmm, bacon… *drool*.
Finish: A building meaty saltiness with a very long, mouthwatering finish.
Comments: An Islay malt from Bowmore that has been perfectly matched to a refill sherry butt to produce those delicious caramelised meaty flavours. Though I think the nose is the winner here, simply divine. Some would say that there’s lots of smoke here both on the nose and on the palate, and they’d be 100% right…for me the smoke is there in droves, but it somehow takes a back seat to the amazing array of other flavours and aromas that are layered here.

Whisky #131 – Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve Japanese Whisky

June 28, 2014 by Whisky a Day Leave a Comment

Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve Japanese Whisky. Yamazaki, Kyoto, Japan. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at Helvetica, $0 – courtesy of Hutch.

Colour: Gold. Fake gold (because it was on the house).

Nose: Strong hay notes, hint of rose water.

Palate: Much smoother than I was expecting for a Japanese malt, especially a Yamazaki. It doesn’t have the flavour punch or the burst of heat when it enters your mouth like the Yamazaki 12 year old.

Finish: Short-medium finish, not much residual heat so the flavours can shine. Sweet in the fade.

Comments: Tastes more like a blend given its smoothness and subtle flavours, but is it? Technically it is a single malt, having all come from the one distillery. But it’s a blend of Yamazaki malts that have been maturing in different casks (red wine, sherry & Japanese oak barrels) for varying time periods. An interesting drop.

Whisky #3: Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old

February 18, 2014 by Whisky a Day 4 Comments

Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt. Yamazaki, Kyoto, Japan. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at Helvetica, $17.

Colour: Light golden / straw colour.

Nose: Sweet honey & maybe some floral notes?

Palate: Soft, smooth and kind of coats the mouth with a gentle film. Kinda like the after effect of smashing a jelly shot – you know you’ve imbibed alcohol but it doesn’t have that strong alcohol sensation.

Finish: not much burn, flavours don’t tend to linger long or create any lasting impression to have some more.

Comments: Decent flavours, but a little underwhelming, almost a bit watery. Still very drinkable though. Need to shift my next whisky tastings away from the sweet ones to get some more variety!