Hakushu 12 (abv 43%)
I'm guessing these Suntories need no introduction or pictures by now. Hakushu's the one in the green bottle. For me, this is the quintessential Japanese single malt. Green, tea, refreshing, simple, not too bold. The 12 used to be the standard entry level, but is now in the premium price category. Sigh.
Nose - Not as green as the Distiller's Reserve. Some soft mossiness here that is Hakushu's style of peatiness that reminds me a little of a three-egg veg dish you often see at Chinese restaurants. Spicy, with some alcohol prickliness. Suggestions of sherry and vanilla. A little butter.
Palate - Lemon zest, tamed by velvety sweetness - honey and I think a bit of stewed pears and cinnamon apples. There's a touch of creamy peanut butter to it, so that'll be...peanut, salt, oil (basically, right?). A slight woody undertone that dovetails very nicely with the mossy peat. Gingery, in a tuber way, and not how I move after a game of football.
Finish - Mm. Not long. Spicy and gingery, a little more honey and lemon.
Over all - Not as good as the 18 (duh), but still pretty great. I really like Hakushu.
Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique
This bottle was had at LMDW's free (!) tasting 2 months ago, but I kept my notes from then. Free! A Kavalan! A former Whisky of the Year! What a treat! Let's see if the whisky is as generous as LMDW. No abv, because I did not take it down when tasting, did not snap a picture, and, yea. I was too happy sipping and chatting. Sorry.
Colour - Almost mahogany, but not quite as dark as the Solist Sherry.
Nose - Mm. Big notes of vanilla, some sweet wine, but actually, to my untrained nose, borders on sherry. A little more on the sour side, but still sweet and raisin-y. Spicy too, with a big alcohol hit. Bold oak, and also very malty. This is a big nose. A little... too in-you-face for my liking, but, hey, sometimes, you don't want it subtle.
Palate - Again, big alcohol hit. Expected for a cask strength (really should have paid attention to abv). Vanilla, sherry, a bit of port, caramel toffee. Browned sugar. Ooh. Turns very drying, a lot of oak, fairly tannic, though the vanilla and toffee makes it pretty bearable. Prunes and plums. Maybe parsley or coriander.
Finish - Oh, burns a fair bit going down. Fairly smooth, after the alcohol on the nose and palate. Aftertaste of dark chocolate, plum peel, and spice.
Overall - Different cask/batch and all that, but I'm not sure if I'll award this a World's Best award.
Showing posts with label Hakushu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hakushu. Show all posts
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Two Unrelated Malts - Hakushu Sherry Cask and Longrow C.V.
The second part of the four whiskies that were tried last Friday at Auld Alliance - the Hakushu Sherry Cask from 2013, and the Longrow C.V. Both whiskies are rather different, if that's not too much of an understatement. One is roughly 20 times the price of the other on the market nowadays, if not more. So, incommensurable drams, if not for Auld Alliance making it possible.
Hakushu Sherry Cask 2013 (48% abv)
Colour - Much darker than usual Hakushus. The sherry cask has left an indelible imprint upon the whisky. Not quite mahogany, but looks like...some kind of cognac.
Nose - Raisins, cherries, and some fresh berries. The sherry influence is rich. This smells very sweet and pleasant. Behind the sherry lies some more traditional Hakushu scents - green pine forest and clear mineral water (trust me, mineral water has a scent. I know because I can compare it with the tap water in Singapore, which contains several [helpful] chemicals). A little butterscotch richness as well, or maybe that's closer to...caramelized sugar. Mm. A nice, soft gentle oak. But while the Hakushu is still in there, the sherry is dominant. A drop or two of water should help.
Palate - Tastes very much like a standard sherried whisky at first, of the ripe and sweet oloroso variety. Ripe red fruits, very much like the nose. Raisins and berries and cherries, in that order please. The richness of the sherry covers up the Hakushu base a little, I feel. A little spicy, maybe cloves and nutmeg. Oaky tannins, without going into drying territory. This is very smooth, and rather sweet. With some time and water, the Hakushu spirit comes out a bit more. Pine and soft butterscotch notes. This is good, but I think its average age is younger than the Hakushu 18.
Finish - Medium length, with a little more spice, a little oak tannin, a bit more of that butterscotch smooth sweetness, and a bit of damp grass. Smooth, as expected.
Overall - Ok, to be honest, this is great whisky. Perhaps I would have liked it more with a stronger Hakushu presence, and a sherry overlay, but this works too. Sweet, smooth, and very well crafted. A stronger Hakushu presence would have made it awesome, as, in my opinion, Hakushu best showcases what I find to be most representative of Japanese culture and whisky. Green, fresh, complex yet subtle. The sherry treatment masks some of that a little too much, I feel. Also, the biggest sticking point with this is the price. Limited yearly release, but at prices of 3000 to 4000 in Singapore, I can buy maybe 5 to 8 great bottles of similar quality, with more distinct character. Great whisky, but not value for money. Far from it.
Longrow C.V. (46% abv)
This one is a double distilled Springbank (which is distilled 2.5 times), and, I believe, more heavily peated. Went out of production some time back. Should be good.
Colour - Fairly light gold. Not quite white wine, but close.
Nose - Mmm. The peat isn't anywhere near Ardbeg levels. Which is, in my books, good. Something that smells like...oil - slightly acrid but yet warm. Odd but comforting. Minerals, and a touch of...lemon?
Palate - The peat is a little more assertive here. Close to...cigarette ash? Let it sit for a while, and the peat retreats to reveal more lemon and lime (the stone, not the fruit). It is a little yeasty, giving it a slight sour, doughy feel. Barley sweetness if you hold it for a while.
Finish - Not long, but packs a spicy and oaky punch. Some tea tannins, from black tea, I think.
Overall - a good entry level whisky. Great introduction to Longrow, I feel. The Springbank distillate's character is there, and maybe a little "dirtier" with some darker chemicals suggested. But all's good and frankly, rather enjoyable. Great buy if you can still find it at a reasonable price.
Hakushu Sherry Cask 2013 (48% abv)
Colour - Much darker than usual Hakushus. The sherry cask has left an indelible imprint upon the whisky. Not quite mahogany, but looks like...some kind of cognac.
Nose - Raisins, cherries, and some fresh berries. The sherry influence is rich. This smells very sweet and pleasant. Behind the sherry lies some more traditional Hakushu scents - green pine forest and clear mineral water (trust me, mineral water has a scent. I know because I can compare it with the tap water in Singapore, which contains several [helpful] chemicals). A little butterscotch richness as well, or maybe that's closer to...caramelized sugar. Mm. A nice, soft gentle oak. But while the Hakushu is still in there, the sherry is dominant. A drop or two of water should help.
Palate - Tastes very much like a standard sherried whisky at first, of the ripe and sweet oloroso variety. Ripe red fruits, very much like the nose. Raisins and berries and cherries, in that order please. The richness of the sherry covers up the Hakushu base a little, I feel. A little spicy, maybe cloves and nutmeg. Oaky tannins, without going into drying territory. This is very smooth, and rather sweet. With some time and water, the Hakushu spirit comes out a bit more. Pine and soft butterscotch notes. This is good, but I think its average age is younger than the Hakushu 18.
Finish - Medium length, with a little more spice, a little oak tannin, a bit more of that butterscotch smooth sweetness, and a bit of damp grass. Smooth, as expected.
Overall - Ok, to be honest, this is great whisky. Perhaps I would have liked it more with a stronger Hakushu presence, and a sherry overlay, but this works too. Sweet, smooth, and very well crafted. A stronger Hakushu presence would have made it awesome, as, in my opinion, Hakushu best showcases what I find to be most representative of Japanese culture and whisky. Green, fresh, complex yet subtle. The sherry treatment masks some of that a little too much, I feel. Also, the biggest sticking point with this is the price. Limited yearly release, but at prices of 3000 to 4000 in Singapore, I can buy maybe 5 to 8 great bottles of similar quality, with more distinct character. Great whisky, but not value for money. Far from it.
Longrow C.V. (46% abv)
This one is a double distilled Springbank (which is distilled 2.5 times), and, I believe, more heavily peated. Went out of production some time back. Should be good.
Colour - Fairly light gold. Not quite white wine, but close.
Nose - Mmm. The peat isn't anywhere near Ardbeg levels. Which is, in my books, good. Something that smells like...oil - slightly acrid but yet warm. Odd but comforting. Minerals, and a touch of...lemon?
Palate - The peat is a little more assertive here. Close to...cigarette ash? Let it sit for a while, and the peat retreats to reveal more lemon and lime (the stone, not the fruit). It is a little yeasty, giving it a slight sour, doughy feel. Barley sweetness if you hold it for a while.
Finish - Not long, but packs a spicy and oaky punch. Some tea tannins, from black tea, I think.
Overall - a good entry level whisky. Great introduction to Longrow, I feel. The Springbank distillate's character is there, and maybe a little "dirtier" with some darker chemicals suggested. But all's good and frankly, rather enjoyable. Great buy if you can still find it at a reasonable price.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Hakushu Distiller's Reserve
It's been a busy week, so I'm pulling out an old tasting note on a new whisky - the Hakushu Distiller's Reserve.
The Distiller's Reserves from Hakushu and Yamazaki are meant to become the new entry level malt for the two distilleries respectively, replacing the 12-year-olds that used to be their entry level offering. Reception has been pretty mixed for both. Some see it as a watering down of good, aged whiskies to feed a burgeoning market, while others see it as a welcome step to make good single malts more accessible, both in terms of quantity and price. Both DRs claim to contain some old whisky. That may well be true, but a simple tasting will reveal that the DRs are much younger than they are old. If only distilleries reveal average ages of the whiskies that go into the final product...
The 12 -year-old Yamazaki was fairly accomplished, while my impression of the DR wasn't as good. It felt like an uncomfortable blend, something trying to be both young and old at the same time. There were some touches of older Yamazaki, but somehow, that took the effervescence off what could have been a good, young Yamazaki without really adding the benefits of age.
The Hakushu Distiller's Reserve, on the other hand, was much more to my liking.
Hakushu Distiller's Reserve (40% abv)
Colour - Light gold, very close to straw
Nose - Young whisky indeed. The alcohol is prickly on the nose. With some time, the nose starts to develop. The forests that you can find in the 18 are here as well. In fact, it seems fresher. The Hakushu 18 smells like pine sap. This one smells like the forest, untouched. Pine, green, unripe pears, and the crisp smell of clear mineral/river water.
Palate - the alcohol is sharper than in the 18, like it was in the nose. But that's to be expected. Pine leaves, mineral water crispness, and some earthy notes too. Not sure if I would describe that as soft peat or soil, but something from the ground, basically. A little bit of lemons; sharp but citrusy. And, surprisingly, a sudden, quick flash of the mature oak and ripe pears more associated with the Hakushu 18. This flash of maturity disappears quickly, and the young age of the DR reasserts itself.
Finish - Short, and a little prickly. Spice and alcohol leaves its mark, but disappears quickly. This is a pretty short finish, with a little more alcohol burn than spice. Some oak at the back just before it goes down and disappears.
Overall - I like this. The Hakushu DR, if drunk and tasted in its own right, is good and enjoyable. It isn't in the same style as the old Scotches, of which the Yamazaki is probably closer in style to. But I would say that the Hakushu feels more like an attempt at Japanese whisky with a Japanese twist in its flavour. More Japanese green tea and less English Breakfast, if such a comparison is appropriate. I like this, and it's fairly affordable too.
The Distiller's Reserves from Hakushu and Yamazaki are meant to become the new entry level malt for the two distilleries respectively, replacing the 12-year-olds that used to be their entry level offering. Reception has been pretty mixed for both. Some see it as a watering down of good, aged whiskies to feed a burgeoning market, while others see it as a welcome step to make good single malts more accessible, both in terms of quantity and price. Both DRs claim to contain some old whisky. That may well be true, but a simple tasting will reveal that the DRs are much younger than they are old. If only distilleries reveal average ages of the whiskies that go into the final product...
The 12 -year-old Yamazaki was fairly accomplished, while my impression of the DR wasn't as good. It felt like an uncomfortable blend, something trying to be both young and old at the same time. There were some touches of older Yamazaki, but somehow, that took the effervescence off what could have been a good, young Yamazaki without really adding the benefits of age.
The Hakushu Distiller's Reserve, on the other hand, was much more to my liking.
Hakushu Distiller's Reserve (40% abv)
Colour - Light gold, very close to straw
Nose - Young whisky indeed. The alcohol is prickly on the nose. With some time, the nose starts to develop. The forests that you can find in the 18 are here as well. In fact, it seems fresher. The Hakushu 18 smells like pine sap. This one smells like the forest, untouched. Pine, green, unripe pears, and the crisp smell of clear mineral/river water.
Palate - the alcohol is sharper than in the 18, like it was in the nose. But that's to be expected. Pine leaves, mineral water crispness, and some earthy notes too. Not sure if I would describe that as soft peat or soil, but something from the ground, basically. A little bit of lemons; sharp but citrusy. And, surprisingly, a sudden, quick flash of the mature oak and ripe pears more associated with the Hakushu 18. This flash of maturity disappears quickly, and the young age of the DR reasserts itself.
Finish - Short, and a little prickly. Spice and alcohol leaves its mark, but disappears quickly. This is a pretty short finish, with a little more alcohol burn than spice. Some oak at the back just before it goes down and disappears.
Overall - I like this. The Hakushu DR, if drunk and tasted in its own right, is good and enjoyable. It isn't in the same style as the old Scotches, of which the Yamazaki is probably closer in style to. But I would say that the Hakushu feels more like an attempt at Japanese whisky with a Japanese twist in its flavour. More Japanese green tea and less English Breakfast, if such a comparison is appropriate. I like this, and it's fairly affordable too.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Hakushu 18
Hakushu 18 - the one that got me started on whisky, and the price hike that forced me to venture further afield into the Scotches, Irish and Taiwanese whiskies. The increase in prices has outstripped the quality of the whisky. My friend managed to get a bottle of this for me before the recent steep hike, so I'm sipping it very, very slowly. And I'm definitely not going to offer my dad this again - he finished a dram in about 5 minutes, after adding ice. The only thing he tasted was the alcohol. Ah well.
Colour: Beautiful
Nose: Lemons and apples. Warm grassiness, promises of spices. Sweet oak, which complements the grassy smell very well. Almost like walking through a fruit orchard with fruits ripe for picking (ok, I'm making this one up. I've never been to apple or lemon fruit orchards before). Which really goes to show how good whisky tasting notes can only be written by people with rich travelling and tasting experiences. Some whisky tasters confidently state that some whiskies taste like earth or soil. Have they tasted soil before? Or, antiseptic, industrial oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm not putting anywhere near my mouth. I guess that is due to the close connection between our olfactory senses and our sense of taste. A light peatiness that is hard to distinguish from the grass, but I think I caught it peaking out.
Palate: Ripe apples, and a little spicy. Soft grassy peat, and something that borders on being a little savoury. Plum sauce, perhaps? Hmm. Reminds me of a yuzu-miso paste I once had... Oak seems to be what is holding the whisky together. The spice comes in waves; if you hold it in your mouth a little longer, the spice makes a sharp-ish return. A nice little surprise. On the whole, smooth, as we have come to expect from Japanese whiskies.
Finish: Oak with a little spice, and a whiff of peat at the back. Shiok.
This one is good, and remains one of my favourites. But, money is in short supply, and sales assistants are recommending Auchentoshans, Ben Nevis (which cost about half to a third of the price for similar aged items) as decent substitutes for the Hakushu. Doubt I'll be buying another bottle of Hakush 18 anytime soon. Should properly cherish this one.
Colour: Beautiful
Nose: Lemons and apples. Warm grassiness, promises of spices. Sweet oak, which complements the grassy smell very well. Almost like walking through a fruit orchard with fruits ripe for picking (ok, I'm making this one up. I've never been to apple or lemon fruit orchards before). Which really goes to show how good whisky tasting notes can only be written by people with rich travelling and tasting experiences. Some whisky tasters confidently state that some whiskies taste like earth or soil. Have they tasted soil before? Or, antiseptic, industrial oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm not putting anywhere near my mouth. I guess that is due to the close connection between our olfactory senses and our sense of taste. A light peatiness that is hard to distinguish from the grass, but I think I caught it peaking out.
Palate: Ripe apples, and a little spicy. Soft grassy peat, and something that borders on being a little savoury. Plum sauce, perhaps? Hmm. Reminds me of a yuzu-miso paste I once had... Oak seems to be what is holding the whisky together. The spice comes in waves; if you hold it in your mouth a little longer, the spice makes a sharp-ish return. A nice little surprise. On the whole, smooth, as we have come to expect from Japanese whiskies.
Finish: Oak with a little spice, and a whiff of peat at the back. Shiok.
This one is good, and remains one of my favourites. But, money is in short supply, and sales assistants are recommending Auchentoshans, Ben Nevis (which cost about half to a third of the price for similar aged items) as decent substitutes for the Hakushu. Doubt I'll be buying another bottle of Hakush 18 anytime soon. Should properly cherish this one.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
First post!
This blog was started about a year after I first started drinking whisky. I don't remember the tastes of many of these whiskies enough to pen my own notes for them. Yet, there are some that stick in my mind, as if something about the whisky still lingers on long after the bottle is emptied.
There is always some difficulty in deciding how to inaugurate a blog. What shall we start with? A couple of popular, go-to whiskies? Start with a bang? Start with an award winner?
Maybe I'll start with a story about my first proper exposure to whisky...
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A year ago, I was privileged to be invited to a good friend's house for the Lunar New Year. His father had purchased several bottles of whisky to entertain the guests who'll be coming around. Among the bottles that were on the table, I remember a Glenrothes 30, 25, 20. There was a Ballantine's 30 year, as well as a Hakushu 18. There were probably one or two more, but my memory is hazy. I remember clearly that I loved the Hakushu 18, for how refreshing and mellow it was, with slight grassy, warming peatiness, and the gentle citrus notes...beautiful, balanced flavours. The Ballantine's was smooth, as one would expect from a 30 year old blend. Floral, nutty, but I thought that it wasn't that special, nor quite worth the price, if I were just talking about how it tasted and smelt.
As I was happily sipping a dram of the Hakushu 18, one of the other guests poured herself a glass of the Glenrothes 30 (this one: https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/820/glenrothes-30-year-old). And by a glass, I mean about 100 ml or slightly more. Of a 30 year old whisky. She took a sip, and declared that it was too strong.
So, she split that glass of whisky into two glasses. She then took up a pack of Pokka's Jasmine Green Tea, less sugar, opened the pack of Green Tea, and poured the whole packet of green tea into the two half-glasses of 30 year-old Glenrothes. Mixing the drinks, she took another sip, and with great satisfaction, said that the drink was now "much better". After all, we have to mix whisky so that we can drink more, she sagely proclaimed.
And thus, a tragedy.
There are many ways to drink whisky, and some of us do like to mix our whiskies into highballs and cocktails. No problem. I'm just not sure if a $1000 bottle was supposed to be drunk in this way...
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Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps not. But this story is firmly part of my initiation to whisky drinking. The heartache I felt for the Glenrothes, and the joy I got from the Hakushu, became the starting point of my whisky journey. Pain and joy are part of life's journey - they nudge us on, step by step, out of the Garden of Eden (or is it the forests on the Japanese Southern Alps??) and into the scary and beautiful world out there...
The next post will have some notes about two whiskies that I like enough to drink them as daily (ok, not quite daily) sips: the Oban 14, and the Talisker 10.
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