A bunch of stuff in today's bag of tasting notes - Hibiki 12, Ardbeg 10, Penderyn Aur Cymru Madeira, and Yamazaki 12.
Hibiki 12 - This one has been discontinued, and prices have skyrocketed since the discontinuation was announced. Used to be one of the staples of the Suntory line of whiskies. A nice, amber colour.
Nose - Fruity. A little plum, somewhat like the Hibiki Harmony Master's Select. But this one is more complex. There's some sweet oak, and caramel. A little sherry? Some sweet red fruit in any case. Vanilla, and a little floral. Pleasant, well-balanced.
Palate - sweet. Suggestions of a little nut, like almonds. Oak. Sweet plum. Vanilla, and some spices. This one is really more complex and better than the Master's Select, in my opinion. Or maybe I just haven't given the Master's Select a fair hearing.
Finish - A little short. Some tannin, and thus, a little drying. Spices and wood.
A good, balanced dram. Japanese craft evidently on display.
Ardbeg 10 - Ardbeg is the quintessential peat monster. This tasting was contributed by PY, who is definitely a guy, despite having a name that often gets mistaken for being feminine.
Nose - ash and meat. Like a barbecue. Then some charcoal smoke. Exactly like a barbecue then...oddly, some vanilla as well. Or something sweet.
Palate - Immediately a bit drying. Herbal/medicinal, ashy, and more charcoal smoke. Sweet as well. Spicy on the way down. There's a little alcohol burn in this one. On second sipping, an odd taste. Reminded me of the brine in canned tuna. PY gives me an incredulous "huh? canned tuna??" Guess it's just me then.
Finish - spicy, and some drying tea tannins. Fiery, like swallowing warm coals. Leaves a little sweetness at the back of the throat.
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Second session consisted of the following 4 drinks. With me tonight was JP, who gave the taster bottle of Yamazaki 12. He got to try the Kavalan Solist Sherry and the Edition Santis. I won't be writing new notes on those, but just noting some of his remarks that differed from mine...
First up was the Penderyn Aur Cymru Madeira (46% abv). This one came courtesy of CP, who also helped me to get the Santis. Thank you!
Colour - straw
Nose - Leathery. Tanned leather. A little grain, and a little yeast, with that bit of sour scent that yeast has. Doesn't smell very promising, but we'll see.
Palate - a little sour. Then it becomes bitter. According to JP, this is the bitter that comes at the back of traditional Chinese medicine. Licorice, then rubber, tar. A little peppery. JP and I were making funny, grimacing faces at one another. Maybe some people like this profile of flavours, but we don't.
Finish - rubber and licorice. Burns a little.
Overall - mm. As the first Welsh whisky that I've ever come across, it was worth a try. Like an adventure in a YOLO sort of way. But I don't think I'll be rushing to get a full bottle anytime soon.
Yamazaki 12 - Less famous than it's 18 year old brother, but prices are also going up.
Nose - Sherry was the first to hit. A little bit of a citrus fruit. First word that came to JP was yuzu. Hmm. I thought it was something a little heavier than yuzu. A bit of oak. Quite a lot of honey.
Palate - Sherry on entry. Rather sweet. A bit of spice and just a small whiff of smoke in the middlle. Vanilla backdrop. A lot of honey. This one is sweet.
Finish - a bit drying. Light smoke and spice. Like honeyed water with cinnamon.
On the whole, very nice. Not in the same class as the 18, but you can taste the progression. Some distilleries produce whiskies whereby the various ages are matured in very different ways, and thus taste very different. This one tastes just like a younger version of the 18. The 18 becomes richer, rounder, and more matured, but the basic is the same. Good quality and product control by the folks at Yamazaki.
JP's impression of the Santis and Kavalan:
Santis - not really beer-like until the finish, as opposed to the beer I found upfront. He smelt more vanilla than I did, and some icing sugar. I can see why he found those notes, but perhaps that's not quite how I would describe them. On the whole, we agree that this is nice, pleasant, too dangerously easy to drink. JP says that he can almost taste the Alpine water that went into this whisky. JP also very versatile, being a good sipping dram as well as something to round off a more complex drinking session.
Kavalan - JP did not enjoy this much as I did, with the rubbery notes hitting him first. He found the rubber quite off-putting. Concluded that he wasn't much of a sherry bomb guy. Ah well.
So, 6 whiskies over 2 sessions that take us around the world. 1 Scotch, 2 Japanese, 1 Swiss, 1 Taiwanese, and 1 Welsh. That was fun!
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We are on 14 now...Getting really close...Will we succeed...? Or will I have to cheat...?!? Bring out an old tasting note? Write a new note on something that I already have a review for? Or what?
The clock is ticking.
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