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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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March 24, 2015 |
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Cult whiskies from Japan
(including some Japanese Ardbeg) |
Isn’t it amazing how big Japanese whisky has become? I remember well twelve or fifteen years ago, you had so few people outside Japan who were even considering trying some, apart from a handful of pioneers such as the wonderful Dutch connoisseur Bert Vuik, who used to have dozens of opened Karuizawas, Yoichis or Yamazakis way before anybody else had even heard of those names (especially Karuizawa). Anyway, let’s have a few today. Bert, this is for you my dear friend. |
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Togouchi 12 yo (40%, OB, ‘Japanese’ blend, +/-2014)  I never tried the 12 before, but I had tasted the 18 back in 2011. Not my favourite (WF 78). Oh and it seems that Togouchi isn’t quite Japanese, it’s meant to be a blend of Scotch and Canadian that’s further matured in Japan. Can you still do that with Scottish malt? At 75€ a bottle, all this travelling seems to have cost money. Colour: straw. Nose: plenty of sour apples and wood plus a touch of smoke. Funnily enough, I also find whiffs of Japanese powdered green tea (macha). Must be my brain playing tricks. Mouth: easy and sweet. A lot, and I mean a lot of cider and apple juice, then oak and, once again, green tea, whether Japanese or not. Keeps developing on orchard fruits, greengages, pears, gooseberries… And maybe some funny hints of tomatoes, which is quite uncommon in whisky. The body’s a little thin. Finish: rather short and always a little sour. The smoke is extremely discreet. Comments: more than acceptable, but it simply doesn’t click. I think it’s disjointed and a little too weak. SGP:441 - 72 points. |
I wanted to try again a recent version of Togouchi 18, but I think we’ll do that another time. Because there’s more serious stuff waiting for us… In fact, this may represent exactly the opposite… |
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Karuizawa 12 yo 2000/2013 (64,3%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, sherry butt #166)  A wee beast from Karuizawa’s last year. Colour: gold, so probably refill. Nose: a lot of wood varnish at first nosing, really a lot, then bags and bags of cider apples and other grassy/green fruits. Touches of cedar wood and cinnamon in the background, and not much sherry. Lastly, more and more natural vanilla, which comes with some chamomile and other mild herbal teas. It’s only after a good fifteen minutes that a few sultanas are showing themselves. With water: nice whiffs of eucalyptus and camphor, as well as a little humus and tobacco. It got much more ‘Japanese’, whatever that means. Mouth (neat): very punchy citrusy fruits, with a little sour wood and, indeed, raisins. A feeling of apple juice sweetened with a little… Sauternes. Oranges. With water: now we’re talking. Herbal teas, tobacco, old style crème de menthe, tar, lapsang souchong, bitter oranges… That was worth the wait. Finish: long, with a curious bourbony side. A little coconut, perhaps. Comments: a rather delicate Karuizawa, only the very high strength had made it a little beastly at first. Water is needed to unlock it. SGP:552 - 87 points. |
Let’s trying to find a good sparring partner… Maybe another 2000?... |
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Yamazaki 2000/2010 'Owner's Cask' (ABV to come, OB, for Bar Cafe Ciroru Tokyo Namubukuro, barrel, cask #EU 70121)  This baby’s very rare. Colour: gold. Nose: oh very lovely, there are ‘strong ideas’ of Bowmore in this one, which is rather un-Yamazaki in my book. But nothing to complain about, this is almost a Tempest from Japan, plus quite a few delicate touches of aromatic herbs. Would I dare quoting wasabi? And yet, I do find a little wasabi. And parsley. Other than that, we have seawater, kippers, oysters with a drop of Tabasco, lemons, grapefruits, ashes… With water: oh, it became much more medicinal! Band-Aid, more eucalyptus, old embrocations, smoking beedies, old pu-erh tea, mushrooms… I utterly love that. Mouth (neat): exceptional. Smoke and green spices in a unusual combination that would involve caraway, green curry, then pink grapefruits and tangerines, oysters again, smoke of course… With water: how do you say Anti-Maltoporn Brigade in Japanese? I love these whiskies when they’re both focussed and complex. Finish: long, zesty, yet fat, yet tart, yet full… I guess you got it. Comments: indeed, exceptional. One of the smokiest Yamazakis I ever had the opportunity to pour into my glass. And only ten years old! SGP:566 - 92 points. |
Shall we dare going back to earlier vintage after that young glory? You bet! |
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Yamazaki 1995/2006 'Owner's Cask' (56%, OB, for Heavy Foot Club, Shinjuku, Japan, barrel, cask #5G 3015, 164 bottles)  It’s not easy to find reliable information online about those Japanese places when you do not read Japanese, but it seems that the Heavy Foot Club is a restaurant. We’ll leave it at that. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s more the wood that speaks out here, with assorted coconutty aromas and a good deal of vanilla and new oak (carpenter’s workshop). Beyond that, I find the usual marshmallows and bubblegum, as well as discreet touches of sake (S., are you really sure?) Classic young ex-bourbon Yamazaki this time. With water:… but it takes water extremely well, becoming ‘oriental’, with some sandalwood, cigars, incense… Mouth (neat): very heavy, ridden with mentholated oils and other essential oils from the wood. I find this a tad unlikely. Spectacular, but unlikely. A lot of marzipan and bitter oranges too, then white pepper and ginger. With water: citrus fights back and knocks the oak down. Lemon citron grapefruit oranges. That’s very lovely. Finish: long, sweet and spicy like a sweet and spicy cake (bravo, S.) Comments: borders the 90… err, border. Needs water. SGP:651 - 89 points. |
Let’s try to find another barrel… |
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Yamazaki 1993/2007 'Owner's Cask' (57%, OB, barrel, cask #3N70037)  These old Owner’s Casks are really becoming ‘cult’, way beyond the more pedestrian large NAS batches, whether sherried or not. Colour: gold. Nose: same vein as the previous one, just with more varnish, nail polish remover and all that on top of all this coconut, vanilla and sawdust. It is a little rough and brutal, but I’d bet water will help. With water: not quite this time, the tannins are brought out, plus slightly excessive notes of hay. Mouth (neat): its plain and pure fruit juice. It’s a little more tropical this time, with bananas on top of the coconut, and more tart at the same time, with kiwis and rhubarb. The touches of varnish and/or tinned pineapples haven’t gone yet. With water: very good now. Bizarrely, I cannot not think of the best Arrans (ex normal wood). Sweet apples. Finish: quite long, on a blend of pina colada with apple juice. Have to try that one day. Comments: I really liked it, but I’d say it hasn’t quite got the magic. SGP:651 - 84 points. |
Let’s try a hoggie for a change, there should be less oak… |
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Yamazaki 1993/2006 'Owner's Cask' (53%, OB, hogshead, cask #3P70270, 196 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: it’s peatier once again, and it is just superb. The moderate strength (kind of) makes it more approachable, while menthol, tobacco, cedar wood, thuja and humus are running the show, before more Barbour grease, almond oil and fresh putty emerge. The distillate has more freedom in this context, and it all reminds me of something… But what? With water: oh! Old liqueurs, pitch, a fisherman’s old boat, old books, carbon paper… I know this, it’s on the tip of my tongue!... Mouth (neat): right, did someone mistakenly pour some old Ardbeg into this bottle? Seriously? I’m not joking, at all, this tastes just like some 1974 ‘beg. Smoked tea, smoked almonds, tar, salted fish… Well we won’t list all flavours we get, but really, it’s old Ardbeg. Amazing again. With water: please call the Anti-Maltoporn Samurais! Finish: endless and magical. What a cask, what a cask… Dear, dear (refill) hogsheads! There’s also more and more smoked ham. Comments: we’ve approached grandeur with this one. And it swims like Mark Spitz. SGP:457 - 93 points. |
What shall we do now? Let’s have only one, and we’ll be done. But let’s choose it very carefully (given that this is a verticale, so it must be older…) Well, it seems that we’ll stay at Yamazaki, with another hogshead… |
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Yamazaki 1989/2011 'Owner's Cask' (59%, OB for Futataka, 3rd edition, hogshead, cask #9W70427, 101 bottles) We already tried Mr. Futakata’s first two editions, and both have been purely magical. Mr. Osamu Futakata runs the South Park Malt Bar in Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Colour: deep gold. This starts well. Nose: Zen! Starts minimal, in a great way. Whiffs of chestnuts being roasted, warm praline, probably white chocolate… It’s only after two or three minutes that more fruits come through, first plantains, then ripe mangosteen… And then it’s rather delicate herbal teas. Honeysuckle, lime tree, orange blossom, rosehip… Far in the background, some cedar wood and some incense are slowly burning. And then we have some crème au beurre. All this is very subtle, despite the very high strength. I can’t wait… With water: the most extraordinary digestive herbal tea. Genepy, fennel and verbena stand out. Maybe rosemary (did you know sniffing rosemary can increase memory by 75%? Well so say some websites). Mouth (neat): how extreme-oriental is this?! Now it’s also massive, so let’s be careful. What I seem to get is something very spicy, very umami-esque (not making that up), quite unusual… Some kind of spice decoction, perhaps, and I’m wondering whether this wasn’t Japanese oak (quercus mongolica). Quite a lot of ginger and plenty of bitter oranges. Water seems to be obligatory here. So… With water: what’s absolutely stunning here is the Japanity (I do apologise). This is not Scotch-like at all, it’s got plenty of character and it’s got this very specific spiciness that may make it a notch challenging to beginners (but would beginners come across this?) Mentholated oak spices, tropical fruits, leather… The list would be endless. Finish: very long, spicy and sweet at the same time. Gingerbread, oranges, peppermint, cloves, caraway, a little brown sugar, something medicinal (cough syrup) and a little… wasabi. There! And if you insist, I may well find hints of soy sauce. Comments: seriously, this is a great bottle. I was ready to go up to 94 until a few oak spices in the finish started to make it a wee-tad drying. Just a wee tad. SGP:572 - 93 points. |
Didn’t someone just claim that those were cult whiskies? |
(with heartfelt mercis to dear Bert V., Scott, and Mr Futakata) |
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