Whiskyfun: (Not fairly) Reside From Japan

Whiskyfun: (Not fairly) Reside From Japan – Half 2

I’m again in Scotland now and roughly recovered from what was one other unbelievable go to to Japan. It’s arduous to convey what a outstanding place Japan is to anybody who hasn’t been there, particularly to Westerners. It’s straightforward to look at the politeness of the tradition, the cleanliness and great thing about the cities and cities, the hanging peacefulness that may be discovered in lots of locations and particularly the friendliness of the Japanese folks themselves. Nevertheless it all feels a bit of ineffective at capturing the general impression that you simply take away from even the briefest of visits. Should you ever get the prospect, all I can say is that I’d heartily advocate you go. 

Michel Couvreur 31 yo 1967 ‘Very Sherried Single Single’ (56%, OB, sherry)
An excellent uncommon, early Michel Couvreur bottling, most likely bottled completely for Japan. Color: espresso/bronze. Nostril: very dense and thick old-fashioned sherry, with lovely plummy darkish fruits sitting instantly behind that. Damp, booze-soaked Christmas cake. plum wine, 5 spice and aniseed with many heavy rancio inclusions. With water: beef inventory, extra plums, ginger powder, star anise and natural cocktail bitters. A wee aroma of sawn rosewood too. Mouth: highly effective and thickly sherried! Splendidly gelatinous, jammy old-fashioned sherry, with prunes in syrup, walnut wine, contemporary black espresso with brown sugar, pomegranate molasses and issues like fig jam, sport inventory and drying leathery notes. With water: nonetheless beautifully highly effective and punchy, however but by no means too tannic or drying. Old fashioned bodega earthiness, aged Fernet Branca, root beer syrup and hessian. End: lengthy, gently drying, extra meaty and gamey notes and nonetheless full of sentimental darkish fruits and lingering rancio qualities. Feedback: a real previous type sherry bomb. Completely terrific, however you most likely should be bodily ready to take one a big dram of this darkish wee beastie! 
SGP: 661 – 91 factors. 

Tomatin 27 yo 1962/1989 (46%, Cadenhead Dumpy)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: extraordinarily mechanical, very typical previous Cad Dumpy in type, filled with device bins, rags, oils, bike chain grease and cash. Additionally bone marrow, punchy olive oil and medicinal embrocations. With time it gathers increasingly more fantastic citrusy notes, alongside coal soot, natural teas, lemon zest and bandages. I like it! Mouth: very sooty, very oily, camphory, fatty, mechanical and completely on this previous type Cadenhead Dumpy profile as soon as once more. Like a retro-futuristic android in distillate type! Develops some elegant citrus and menthol notes, lemon inexperienced tea, eucalyptus and this quite grassy ‘Irish’ high quality – which I additionally contemplate to be fairly typical of previous Tomatins extra usually. End: medium, very grassy, syrupy lemon notes, mentholic and with much more olive oil character. Feedback: very old-fashioned and actually immensely, impressively mechanical in profile. I like this character, though it’s most likely a tad extreme which prevents it technically reaching 90, however nice improvement, enjoyable and pleasure is available alongside the best way. 
SGP: 572 – 89 factors.

Brora 23 yo 1981 (46% First Cask, cask #1556)
Color: white wine. Nostril: pure minerals, seashore pebbles, sheep wool oils and lanolin. Not a lot a peaty one, as we might count on from this classic, however actually fats and usually ‘Brora’ by way of distillate weight and waxiness. Mouth: glorious, peppery energy and waxy character. Properly drying, and fairly saline too, with this pretty mixture of lemon and bitter grapefruit together with coastal impressions. End: lengthy, with chalky mineral traits persisting, tense coastal vibes, waxes and citrus rinds. Feedback: fab, unpeaty, but ‘huge’ Brora that has many alluring echoes of some Nineteen Sixties Clynelish. 
SGP: 362 – 91 factors.

Glenburgie 1963/2003 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, licensed bottling, sherry)
Color: amber. Nostril: historical Fins Bois cognac, drenched in crystallised darkish fruits, raisins, sultanas and dried unique fruit chunks. Additionally various typical old-fashioned rancio and an entire humidor of unlit, aged cigars. A very beautiful nostril! Mouth: drier and filled with leafy and earthy notes, gentle brown sugar, wooden resins and extra previous cognac however with extra of a Grande Champagne tilt this time. End: good size, drying and earthy with extra gentle tobacco notes and a bit of camphor. Feedback: a very gorgeous nostril and a palate with a slight dryness about it, general nonetheless a strong 90 in my opinion. 
SGP: 551 – 90 factors.

Ben Wyvis 27 yo 1972 (45.9%, OB for Japan, cask #745, 187 bottles)
Not every single day you get to style a Ben Wyvis! Bear in mind, Ben Wyvis was single malt made on a pair of pot stills inside the Invergordon grain distilling complicated between 1965 and 1977; virtually all of its manufacturing went into blends save for the odd cask right here and there. Color: straw. Nostril: a stunning combine of sentimental inexperienced, yellow and unique fruits. Very ripe, fleshy and luscious, with a fragile scent of sentimental, feathery peat smoke within the background. Extraordinarily elegant, refined and charming. Mouth: gentle and generously fruity but once more, with a barely extra distinguished peat smoke flavour right here. There’s additionally a rising sense of waxiness and a wee impression of mineral oil. An excellent shock, and extremely distinctive. End: medium, extra gentle waxes, luscious fruit salad notes, delicate smoke and dry cereals. Feedback: Appears there was some peated malt being utilized in 1972, there’s additionally a a lot earlier 1972 OB underneath the title ‘Munton & Fison’ which can be distilled from peated malt. I’ve to say, this was an excellent shock and never like too many different modern makes from this period.
 SGP: 653 – 90 factors.

Dornoch 5 yo 2019/2024 (56.2%, OB, cask #170, 1st fill ex-rye octave, 82 bottles)
This cask belonged to nice pal of Whiskyfun, Hideo Yamaoka! Color: gold. Nostril: rye certainly! Many spiced breads, darkish winter ales, pinecones and cedar wooden, with shaved coconut, eucalyptus and rising notes of dried mango. With water: develops a fruitier and greener edge, with crushed nettles, delicate unique fruits and these pretty impressions of older pure pot Irish whiskey. An excellent, energetic stress and freshness as soon as water is added. Mouth: glorious! Very spicy as soon as once more, however that’s properly matched by a richly oily texture, some syrupy fruit character reminiscent of fruit salad juices and a bit of extra coconut. Additionally hashish resin and wintergreen. With water: as soon as once more a greener, tenser and brisker profile emerges. Pretty crisp inexperienced apple and gooseberry, nettle and hessian. End: lengthy, a number of cabinet spices, fir resins and a few tannic fruit teas. Feedback: the quite energetic small cask means the spice can turn into a bit of an excessive amount of at occasions, however that is in any other case excellent, with impressively sharp, vividly fruity and splendidly textured distillate at work. Up there with the very best Dornoch single casks I may strive to this point I’d say. 
SGP: 661 – 89 factors.

Longmorn 39 yo 1969/2009 ‘E-book of Kells’ (58.9%, Gordon & MacPhail for Mash Tun, Kask Tokyo and Japan Import System, cask #5298, refill sherry butt, 460 bottles)
I’ve tried this earlier than however by no means managed to report formal notes. Color: deep, orangey gold. Nostril: instantly immense! With a strong wall of fruits greeting you. An entire host of preserved darkish, inexperienced and yellow fruits, additionally blood orange marmalade, aged Cointreau and Grand Marnier. Astonishingly dense, giving the impression of unbelievable texture and thickness. With time it quickly turns into extra unique and opulent, the fruits turn into riper, extra vibrant and start to incorporate passionfruit, mango and papaya. The fruit is so dominating that you simply virtually overlook to say all these different tertiary notes of roots, herbs, medicines and treasured wooden resins. Additionally a finely detailed spice aroma woven between all of it. An excessive amount of happening to know the place to show. With water: turns into youthful, brighter, riper and even brisker which is difficult to fathom. Retains selecting up steam, energy, depth and brilliance. Add into the combination some ripe inexperienced melon, tangerine and extra mango. You are feeling completely dominated and misplaced! Mouth: unbelievable arrival! Breathtaking depth and syrupy concentrated fruitiness – virtually gelatinous in texture! Layer upon layer of unique, darkish and inexperienced fruits, in all shades and ranges of ripeness and depth – virtually 3D whisky! Behind all that there’s additionally extra of those magnificent rooty, natural and subtly medicinal elements. With water: simply astonishing, the unbelievable uplift in depth and freshness from the nostril is mirrored as soon as once more right here. Waxes, wormwood, camphor, uncommon spices, an virtually obscene burst of fruitiness. End: terribly lengthy, resinous, natural and fruity, sustaining this magnificent concentrated fruity energy seemingly with out let up. Feedback: A masterpiece. A whisky you may solely try to explain, these measly notes most likely miss way more than they seize. A type of whole experiences in whisky that blows your socks off and leaves you scratching your head! 
SGP: 762 – 95 factors. 

Springbank 1970/1993 ‘West Highland Malt – Native Barley’ (46%, OB, cask #1767, 280 bottles)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: an exquisite, wildly syrupy waxiness, filled with salted flower honeys, coastal freshness and abundantly zesty citrus fruits. Additionally unique fruit teas and essentially the most delicate thread of peat smoke. Beautiful previous Springbank from refill wooden. Mouth: wax, honey and inexperienced and unique fruits all in balanced abundance. All supported by coastal freshness, mineral qualities and extra of those wafer-thin wisps of peat smoke. End: very lengthy, an ideal continuation of all these mineral notes, crystallised honey, dry waxes and feathery, bone-dry peat smoke. Feedback: unattainable to not adore this completely impeccable and flawless previous Springbank. A whisky that’s completely dominated and pushed by sensible distillate character. Additionally, to not point out, totally deadly drinkability! 
SGP: 663 – 93 factors.

Shizuoka 2019/2023 (55.5%, OB Personal Cask, cask #438, bourbon, 60 bottles)
Color: deep gold. Nostril: instantly fairly spicy, a sense of extractive maturation however with spectacular spice element, fruit preserves, spiced marmalade, toasted coriander seeds, contemporary rosewood, sandalwood shaving foam and mustard seed. A giant and highly effective profile that almost makes an asset of its woodier inclusions. With water: some type of spiced mango tea! Additionally some good refined waxy notes, solar lotion and shoe leather-based all emerge. Mouth: pleasingly creamier than anticipated, extra on gentle cabinet spices, winter ales, touches of pine resin, camphor, putty and natural liqueurs. Getting a bit of extra mentholated and piney with time, some emotions of inexperienced Chartreuse and powerful brewed mint tea. With water: fairly syrupy, fats and quite oily in texture now, nonetheless very a lot dominated by spice traits and with these intermittent elegant sappy and resinous qualities. End: fairly lengthy, extra unique hardwood resins, cabinet spices, cedar wooden and unlit cigars. Feedback: Excellent, though I favor a number of the extra distillate-forward Shizuokas I’ve tasted, for this one you want to be within the temper for spice – this can be a superb instance of that extra extractive type.
SGP: 471 – 84 factors.

Chichibu 2016/2024 (61%, OB, cask #5967, bourbon barrel, 177 bottles)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: a vivid sense of creamy sweetness full of sentimental yellow plums, dried apricot, lemon tea and wee hints of dried mango. Very classical, enticing and easy-going Chichibu. With water: lilies heavy with pollen, sandalwood and touches of lychee and rosewater. Mouth: beautifully zingy and filled with tense, sharp inexperienced fruitiness. Issues like cider apple, gooseberry and crushed nettle. Additionally some kiwi and lime notes. With water: pretty improvement with extra of those zingy inexperienced fruit qualities, but additionally extra coconut, lime leaf and cedar wooden. End: lengthy, on jasmine tea, camphor, rapeseed oil and a few white stone fruits. Feedback: love the tense, fruity improvement of this one, makes for a really entertaining dram. I’d say water is crucial to get the complete spectrum of character accessible although. 
SGP: 651 – 89 factors.

Yamazakura Asaka 6 yo 2018/2024 (61%, OB ‘Ghost Sequence No.22 for Aloha Whisky Bar’, cask #6222, 2nd fill bourbon barrel)
Color: a bit of prickly, however some pretty notes of white stone fruits, many clear cereal notes, rice wine, white pepper and fennel seed with some impressions of brown bread and bitter ales. With water: underripe inexperienced melon, inexperienced banana and a sense of extra distillate character being uncovered, additionally one thing a bit of sweaty and waxy about it, like yellow wine and cider apple with some grassy notes. Mouth: as soon as once more, prickly however with numerous lush white stone fruit. Extra assertive, pure cereal notes and white pepper. With water: a stunning medley of sentimental white and inexperienced fruit notes, general it feels riper and extra luscious, with an umami high quality that makes me consider ramen – very Japanese! This slight sense of funkiness nonetheless stays, however in good concord with the fruits. End: lengthy, powerfully grassy, peppery and reverting to breads, beers and a bit of peppery watercress. Feedback: some pretty, extremely characterful distillate which I feel actually advantages from the refill wooden. These wee funky touches make it actually entertaining to style. 
SGP: 561 – 87 factors. 

Glen Grant 14 yo (75 proof, Gordon & MacPhail for Block Gray & Block, early Nineteen Seventies)
Color: gold. Nostril: typical previous Glen Grant, pretty honeys, fruits, waxes, coconut, cedar and hessian. Somewhat coal mud, previous mead and plenty of dried out, crystallised previous honey impressions. Mouth: straightforward, elegantly drying waxiness, dried citrus peels, unique fruit teas, pollens, camphor and fir resins. Simply nice! End: surprisingly lengthy, again on dusty coal scuttle vibes, camphor, natural medicines and a wee speck of peat. Feedback: tremendous straightforward, direct, extremely typical old-style Glen Grant. Completely lethal stuff! 
SGP: 562 – 90 factors.

Laggan Mill 7 yo 2006/2013 (55.5%, Cooper’s Selection for Shinanoya, sherry hogshead, 300 bottles)
Lagavulin, most likely. Color: amber. Nostril: dense, highly effective and tarry peat with thick, viscous sherry. Recreation salami, smoked venison, roast pheasant, previous pinot noir, smoked sea salt and eucalyptus – actually spectacular! With water: deeply smoky and thick, filled with smoked black pepper, pure tar, fir wooden resins, soy sauce and ramen with chilli oil. Mouth: youthful and rugged, however equally spectacular with this glorious fusion of thick sherry and highly effective peat. Extra wooden resins, eucalyptus oil, tiger balm and a form of ‘sooty iodine’ be aware. With water: very salty and tarry now, some form of peated Maggi! End: looooooong! Nonetheless dominated by tar, iodine, salted liquorice, peat and camphor. Feedback: A terrific, no nonsense, younger sherried Laga. Magnificent salty and umami energy, one to go away in bottle for 20-30 years and you would have one thing completely spellbinding. 
SGP: 477 – 89 factors.

Inchgower 25 yo 1998/2024 (48%, Membership Qing for Edward Zeng, two bourbon barrels, 193 bottles)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: a gentle inexperienced, yellow and unique fruit medley, with cedar wooden and mild waxiness sitting behind that. Gorse flower, white tea, mineral oils, previous leather-based, banana chips and inexperienced melon. A splendidly straightforward and fruity profile – is it simply me, or is Inchgower a bit of underrated? Mouth: lean, waxy, drying and filled with cooking oils, cedar wooden, tiny hints of sesame, toasted cereals, beers and preserved yellow and inexperienced fruits. Characterful and in addition extremely elegant and simple previous whisky. Extra impressions of sentimental fruit teas, fruit salad juices and additional waxy and gentle peppery notes. End: good size, drying, peppery, fairly a little bit of clay, mineral oil, shoe leather-based and pinecones. Feedback: I discover Inchgower a very prime distillate, it not often disappoints. Love the gentle waxy and fruity interaction with this one, actually fairly old-fashioned in some ways. 
SGP: 561 – 88 factors. 

Chichibu 2014/2023 (61.4%, OB for Michiel Wigman, cask #3416, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 166 bottles)
Color: gold. Nostril: splendidly filled with unique wooden spices, resins, camphor, pine needles, tiger balm and hessian fabric. Thick and extremely scented whisky that, given a bit of time, additionally begins to disclose a extra mentholic aspect with dried mint and eucalyptus oils, additionally lemon verbena, wintergreen and sandalwood. Love this beautifully fragrant and densely populated nostril. With water: softens to disclose inexperienced tea with honey and lemon, yuzu, candy rice wine and white miso. Appears to turn into increasingly more ‘Japanese’ which is simply nice. Mouth: very syrupy on arrival within the mouth, textural whisky chock filled with spearmint, pine resins, camphor, lime zest, curry leaf and extra sandalwood and gorse flower impressions. A beautiful stability of spicy and candy. With water: lemon balm, sweetened olive oil, ginger cordial and extra menthol qualities. End: lengthy, natural, properly umami with fairly a little bit of agency wooden resin and lingering honey and lemon notes. Feedback: what I like most right here is the loud and clear Japanese accent with which this wee Chichibu speaks. Nice focus, excellent texture and clear distillery character. I can see why they’d have chosen such a cask for this pretty and shifting venture. 
SGP: 661 – 90 factors.