September 5, 2014

Bits and Pieces, today tasting Japan
(or Yoichi, Yamazaki and compadres)

I’m behind with my Japanese. We’ll have a true hotchpotch today, and try to go ‘everywhere’, starting with a blend.

Hibiki 12 yo (43%, OB, blend, Suntory, Japan, +/-2012)

Imagine I’ve tasted the 17, the 21 and the 30 years old, but never the 12. Whisky blogger my hat! Colour: light gold. Nose: I find it rather dry, probably quite elegant but it’s mostly grass and paraffin that first come out, before something slightly resinous (propolis?) and then garden fruits emerge. Apples, a little coconut perhaps, grapefruit skin… Mouth: good power and a pleasant spiciness (ginger and white pepper), then more baked apples and slices of orange cake and perhaps plum cake. I enjoy these notes of lemon and orange marmalades. Finish: quite long, rather gingery. Comments: it’s not a blendy blend, I’d say. I’ve read that this baby’s partly matured in ex-plum liqueur barrels, is that true? High quality blend for sure, but not quite my favourite within the range. SGP:452 - 78 points.

Yoichi 10 yo (45%, OB, Nikka, Japan, +/-2012)

Same story, I’ve formally tried quite a few older Yoichis for WF, but never the 10. Incredible! Colour: gold. Nose: it’s quite wild, earthy and grassy, with little fruitiness and rather a feeling of pu-erh tea. Then rather eucalyptus and the kind of menthol that can come from extractive oak, as well as touches of pencil shavings (same) and burnt wood. Austere and unsexy, not obligatorily a bad thing. Mouth: creamy, starting on a combination of eucalyptus drops again, mint, a touch of mustard and a little sawdust. Then come the fruits (apples and raisins ), together with a little ginger. Pleasant firmness Finish: rather long, earthy, honeyed and gingery. A touch of iron or silver in the aftertaste. Comments: very solid, the wood technology does not feel too much. There are some similarities with the Hibiki – maybe the oak works? SGP:452 - 81 points.

Yoichi 1990/2011 (50%, OB, Nikka, Japan)

And yet another earlier Yoichi that hasn’t been subjected to our stringent checks – yet. Colour: full gold. Nose: it’s another rather earthy and oaky one, a bit in the same style as that of the 10 yo, but with more complexity and an oakiness that’s… yeah, more complex. Some menthol, dry liquorice, ginger, beeswax, sawdust, thuja wood (Moroccan wooden box for tourists – that would be me), then a touch of meat, probably from sherry ( a new pack of beef jerky), then more moss and pine needles. It’s not a smooth/rounded one at all, and that, we like. Mouth: starts on some heavy gingery oak and quite some earthy peat. There are funny touches of vegetables (celeriac?) and then more sweetness, but that remains grassy. Banana skin, ginger, cinnamon, spicy orange marmalade… It tends to become a little acrid and pungent, but in a way, that’s an asset. Finish: very long, with lovely notes of all kinds of teas and oaky spices, chiefly cinnamon. Comments: there’s a lot of oak in this baby, but those exposed beams, so to speak, are part of this style. You just have to like that. SGP:372 - 85 points.

Taketsuru 21 yo (43%, OB, Nikka, blended malt, Japan, +/- 2013)

It’s been a few years years since I tasted my last Taketsuru 21. They actually call it ‘pure malt’. Colour: dark gold. Nose: great, all on tobacco and soft leather, then dried fruits and vanilla cream. Much softer than the Yoichis, much easier, and perhaps even more complex. The oak as such doesn’t feel this time, and it would rather unfold on crystallised oranges, citrons and mints. After Eights. Mouth: the oak feels a little more (leather/coffee/cinnamon) but balance is perfectly achieved, while raisins and nuts start to dance on your tongue. Add a few oranges, tangerines and kumquats and you get a perfectly sexy combo. Finish: long, soft and fruity, with some earl grey tea, honey, salted fudge and even more oranges. Orange blossom water. Comments: this goes down extremely well. Warning, reaching danger zone. SGP:651 - 87 points.

Nikka 'From the Barrel' (51.4%, OB, blend, Japan, +/-2013)

I’ve noticed that this baby’s many whisky enthusiasts’ darling. I have to say a simply love the very minimalist, and very… Japanese packaging. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s like nosing a freshly brewed hazelnut-flavoured coffee at Starbuck’s. More or less. So coffee with milk and roasted nuts (bingo, S.), then praline, vanilla and various spices from the oak, more or less the same as in the Yoichis (ginger, cinnamon). Black tea too. No varnish, hurray! Mouth: not as much toasted oak as I had feared, rather fresh and tinned fruits in the arrival, which is a great surprise. Peaches, apples, plums and tangerines. The oak is there but it remains tamed and discreet. The vanilla’s there as well but it all remains fresh and lively. And fruity. Finish: long, with even more fruits. I’d say gooseberries this time. The aftertaste is a little oakier and spicier, understandably. Comments: I have to say this is a great fruity surprise to me. Great work by Nikka’s masters of many things. SGP:641 - 86 points.

Hold on, it seems that I’ve found an older version…

Nikka 'From the Barrel' (51.4%, OB, blend, Japan, +/-2009) Colour: gold. Nose: same, both are completely undistinguishable. Mouth: same. This one’s maybe a notch more solventy. Or maybe not. Finish: same, both batches are identical. Comments: I’m impressed, Japanese engineering at its best and most consistent. We don’t always need variations, do we? SGP:641 – 86 points.

All right, let’s tackle the more powerful ones from now on…

Yamazaki 1991/2006 'Owner's Cask' (62%, OB, Suntory, puncheon, cask #1P70529)

A beast from this well-known series. We’ve got quite a few older ones yet to taste. BTW, your screen and computer are all right, it's the picture that's very blurred, sorry about that. Colour: gold. Nose: not that strong! A crystal clean blend of vanilla, coffee, earth, leather and eucalyptus. Maybe a little incense, these batches used to nose more ‘globally Japanese’ than newer batches in my opinion. Maybe a trick of my mind? With water: brilliant! Malty smoke (and conversely), earth, fern, old cellar, vanilla, great green tea, lemons… Just beautiful. Mouth: just perfect indeed. Great maltiness, coffee, citrus, baked apples, brioche and croissants, very soft spices… Love this one. With water: even better. Many citrus fruits, tangerines, Seville oranges, a touch of salt, candy sugar, tobacco, honey… And even drops of cane sugar that you can really feel. Finish: long, sweet but extremely clean. Comments: proof that whisky can be perfect without being hugely complex. Now go find a bottle, S.! SGP:651 - 91 points.

That one called for more of this breed…

Yamazaki 1991/2007 'Owner's Cask - Excellent Smokey' (56%, OB, selected by Mr. Kawachiya, hogshead, cask #1V70010)

Colour: full gold. Nose: indeed, a pretty smoky Yamazaki! And it’s both Ardbeg-coastal and Laphroaig-medicinal, mind you. Actually, it’s a very brilliant nose, and it seems that a bit of OBE just did it more well. Burning fir wood, propolis, tar, seaweed smoke, bicycle inner tube, antiseptic, cider apples, leather, light tobacco… With water: new latex, new leather couch, seashells, pine cones smoke, mercurochrome. What’s not to like? Mouth (neat): amazing! It’s to old Ardbeg what a Lexus was to a Mercedes-Benz twenty years ago. More old Ardbeg than modern Ardbeg can be, that’s for sure. With water: oooh! Old riesling, fifty years old chartreuse, a drop of real absinth and an utterly magnificent minerality. And salinity (I’ve heard that’s the new minerality, baby.) Finish: incredibly clean, pure, phenolic, salty, smoky, medicinal and topical… Even mangos are joining the dancing. Comments: lifts you like Mozart. Extremely well selected, Mister Kawachiya! SGP:565 - 93 points.

Where could we go from here? Maybe try yet another Yamazaki from those years?...

Yamazaki 1992/2006 'Owner's Cask' (57%, OB, hogshead, selected by T. Nigita, cask #ZQ70670)

Colour: full gold. Nose: this is becoming embarrassing, as it seems that we’ve got another wonder on our tasting table. No peat this time, rather a full vanilla-ed profile, but it’s not dull modern vanilla at all, it’s vanilla like in some genuine, natural vanilla from, say Madagascar (oh whatever.) Behind the vanilla, rather herbs, camphor, menthol, eucalyptus and aniseed. Nothing too bad… With water: no real further development. Maybe more herbalness? Not too sure, there’s this faint soapiness that can come from newish oak… (no saponification, that wouldn’t go away.) Mouth (neat): Japanese modernity at its best. Perfect vanilla (again!), marshmallows, mint, honey and yellow plums. It’s not complex, it’s even very simple when unreduced, but it’s perfect. Bauhaus whisky (c’mon, S.!) With water: water works this time. More fresh fruits, more marshmallows. Finish: quite long but a little sugary, perhaps. I’m splitting hairs again, it’s a great… how do you say dram in Japanese? Comments: I liked the 1991s better, this one’s a little more, say standard. But quality remains very high. SGP:641 - 88 points.

All right, enough Yamazaki for today, let’s get back to Yoichi. Independent Yoichi for a change…

Yoichi 18 yo 1987/2005 (54.1%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #116.6, a kilted Samurai, 232 bottles)

I’ve never seen any kilted samurais in any of Kurosawa’s movies! Colour: gold. Nose: this one has got as much peat as Mr. Kawachiya’s Yamazaki, but it’s a different beast, with much more tar and even rubber, and less fresh herbs. So rather Port Ellen, if you will. I also find more and more zesty aromas, lime, lemon… Or peppered rhubarb? With water: what often comes out of fine peaters after water’s been added: almond oil and marzipan. And linseed oil. No soap though. Mouth (neat): peat hell! One of the peatiest Yoichis I’ve ever tried – not that I have tasted thousands – and it’s just perfect, because the peat is encrusted in an oily, fruity oakiness that does it much good. Also lemons, of course. With water: a bit of new oak goes through the peat. I like it less when water has been added, new oak can make whisky a tad vulgar in my book. Finish: of medium length. No more tar, no more Port Ellen. Rather peated Bunnahabhain, I’d say. Some lemon for sure. Comments: all very good, it’s got a death seat after the Kawachiya, that’s all. SGP:556 - 87 points.

How many Japanese have we just tried? You say ten? Oh my, that’s already a little too many. I had hoped we could also have a little Hanyu, Haksuhu or Miyagikyo, but let’s have a last one and basta cosi. Like, a Karuizawa from a similar vintage…

Karuizawa 1992/2007 (62.8%, OB, hogshead, cask #6978)

This baby from a time when you could still get them for a song and a dance. Almost. And without these very fancy (and beautiful, I feel I should add) labels. Colour: gold. Nose: a little too strong, I’m afraid. Hay, calvados apples and leather, perhaps, but it burns your nostrils. So, come my best friend… With water: it’s a subtle one, it’s got hay indeed, overripe apples, mentholated tobacco, a touch of cedar wood, popcorn, marzipan-filled chocolate, peanuts, fudge, pollen… and a little wood smoke too. After ten minutes it’s becoming much more floral, with violets and jasmine. Mouth (neat): very strong, thick, aggressive… and yet as oily as the fruitiest olive oil. I seem to detect quite some caramelised oak, toasted bread and warm vanilla fudge (when you leave it in your car in summer – yes I’m speaking from experience.) With water: excellent. Earth, gentian roots, walnuts, smoky liquorice and more bourbon wood goodness. Also love the oranges in it. Finish: long, clean, maybe not the most interesting part. Walnut cake? Pecan pie? More phenolic/sappy notes on the aftertaste. Smoked Chlorophyll – or something like that. Comments: an unusual Karuizawa that’s rather less ‘tertiary’ than others. More like an ex-bourbon unpeated Yamazaki, if you like, even if this Karuizawa’s a little more on tar. Needs time but then it’s extremely rewarding. Yes I liked it a lot. SGP:563 - 90 points.

Session over. I think it was an excellent one – if I may say so. Thank you Japan.

(and many thanks to Bert, Carsten, Konstantin and C.J.)

Check the index of all Japanese I've tasted so far

Bits and Pieces, today tasting Japan (or Yoichi, Yamazaki and compadres)

Bits and Pieces, today tasting Japan
(or Yoichi, Yamazaki and compadres)