Chinese New Year Escapades - 15 days of CNY, 15 new tastes??

Maybe I'll manage to pull together some notes on 15 different whiskies for these 15 days of CNY. Some are things that I've had before, and had occasion to try again, and others are going to be new tastes. May not be able to give detailed tasting notes on them, but I'll see what I can put together...

Starting with 3 that I tasted while at DW's home for the Chelsea-Man U game...in increasing order of preference.

Crown Royal North Harvest Rye - It is now legal requirement to mention that this Canadian blend was Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year. However, I would like to register my polite disagreement - this might be good rye whisky, but whisky of the year is utter rubbish. In any case, I could be biased, as I was put off by the very very intense syrup nose and palate. Only took a small sip, and I was done. Maybe rye whiskies are not my thing. Way, way too sweet and syrupy.  Cough syrup, specifically. DW added ice, and it lost its cough syrup feel, to become corn syrup. Urgh. Some spice, not much else came to me. Overpowering sweetness. Not nice. And not worth the price it now commands, after Jim Murray's endorsement.

Johnnie Walker Blue King George V - Marketed and priced as a luxury product, a statement and not just a product. The packaging for this blended whisky is beautiful. 

Just look at that packaging! 

The whisky itself...

Nose - One can tell that it's a blended whisky straightaway. Notes of grain, cereal and malt. Some indistinct fruit, though that could be because it was a newly opened bottled. I notice that noses tend to become more developed with some time. A whiff of smoke. 

Palate - Don't remember this being good enough to blow me away. Smooth, as one would expect from a quality blend. Malt sweetness. Nice touch of smoke/peat. I later found out that this blend has a portion of Port Ellen, though it is not disclosed how much Port Ellen goes into it. Some of the oak comes through. Hmm. I'm willing myself to taste more in this, but frankly, it isn't very complex. Some fruit, like apples and oranges. Balanced, smooth, but not blown away. And I expect to be blown away at this price point.

Finish - Smoke, oak, a little 'dusty", like the smell of dusty, wooden furniture. 

On the whole, nice, smooth, a good drink. But definitely not worth the price JW is asking customers to fork out. Good thing to display on the shelf, but I can think of many other whiskies that are cheaper and just as satisfying, if not even more so.

And my favourite of the night...

Taketsuru 21 - Nikka's Taketsuru is a regular winner of the World Whisky Awards' Blended Malt of the Year. I'm not sure how many entries there usually are, or how stiff the competition is, but, having had the Taketsuru 12, I'm confident that the 17, 21 and 25 will be amazing too. Time to test the 21.

Nose - Really nice. It's smokier on the nose than the 12, perhaps suggesting a larger percentage of Yoichi in comparison to Miyagikyo. The fruit that come up so readily in the 12 are more mature and reserved, but firm. I think oranges on the nose. A little bit of leather, and a bit of the ocean that reminds me of oyster sauce. Captivating and inviting.

Palate - Smoke stays on the palate throughout. The savouriness turns out to be more like the plum sauce that goes with Chinese roasted meats at restaurants. A little bit of orange too. 

Finish - Medium length. Tea tannins, like pu-erh. A bit of smoke, and a bit of plum. A touch of mint on the way down. Tasty.

This one is on sale at lazada.com's whisky page for about $400. Feels worth it, especially since the King George is selling at about 800 to 900 SGD... 

The Japanese premium affects Nikka less than Hibiki. The Hibiki 21 is selling for above $1000, but the Taketsuru is of good quality, and at less than half the price. Still, at $400, it's in premium category. Not one for regularly drinking by poor people.