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| Hello, that is certainly one of our (nearly) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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December 21, 2024
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5 Miyagikyo
and a Exceptional Bonus |
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Miyagikyo doesn’t fairly have the identical repute as Yoichi, however we’ve already tasted some marvellous ones, even when there have been moderately few in recent times, following a wave of releases between 2005 and 2015. As for at present’s bonus, maintain on tight…
Nikka’s Miyagikyo Sendai (Nikka)
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Miyagikyo 9 yo 2002/2012 (62%, OB, refill butt, cask #101127, Warehouse #6, 517 bottles) 
Most likely a younger, extremely concentrated Miyagikyo. Color: golden. Nostril: think about a fruit salad drizzled with fir honey—apples, bananas, pears, pineapples, mangoes, and vanilla. The entire is nearly supremely easy, which on this case is way from a flaw. Water ought to nonetheless deliver out extra complexity. With water: few modifications, although maybe extra kiwi and rhubarb, which add a Sauvignon Blanc-like pressure. Malted barley and orange cake additionally be part of the combo. Mouth: little bitter candies, fruit liqueurs, ardour fruits, and lime. Once more, this unimaginable simplicity at excessive power. With water: nonetheless the simplicity of contemporary fruits with a couple of English sweets. End: medium size, with comparable flavours. A contact of fir bud liqueur on the aftertaste and a touch of candy woodruff syrup. We love it. Feedback: somewhat fruity bomb, completely crafted in all its simplicity.
SGP:641 – 87 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 18 yo 1996/2014 (62%, OB, La Maison du Whisky, Gentle Peat, remade hogshead, cask #42439, Warehouse #18) 
Like Yoichi, Miyagikyo appears to have alternated between moderately peaty variations and unpeated ones, the latter of which seem like within the majority. Color: gold. Nostril: an impressive arrival on the nostril, with citrus fruits, seaweed, ashes, camphor, and kumquats, adopted by a clearly evident nice white wine character. Consider a grand white Burgundy, for instance. Spectacular touches of honeysuckle, quince, and mirabelle plums, even evoking an amazing Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Splendid and extremely light. Three drops of diesel within the background, doubtless from the peat. With water: contemporary mastic, pencil eraser, carbon paper, cigar ash, and a really mild word of moist canine. Mouth: distinctive, each taut and oily without delay, with citrus peels, yuzu, a small smoked oyster (a Korean specialty), Sichuan pepper, and a tiny spicy contact… It’s excellent. With water: evokes previous citrus- and herb-based liqueurs, although exhausting to pin down exactly. Gentle saline and mineral notes, chalk, clay, and as soon as once more a grand white Burgundy. End: medium size however with excellent construction. Citrus, mint, mild smoke, resins, and a contact of hydrocarbons on the finish. Feedback: we had already tasted some 1996, however not this cask. I discover this immensely good.
SGP:552 – 91 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 18 yo 1991/2009 ‘Whisky Stay Tokyo tenth Anniversary’ (54%, OB, sherry butt, cask #114675) 
In terms of first-fill sherry, our Japanese buddies typically go for emphasis, even extra, although extra typically pays off, as we’ve seen with different well-known distilleries like Yamazaki and, after all, Karuizawa. Color: golden bronze. Nostril: an previous tin field packed to the brim with aged sultanas, then one other full of figs and dried dates. This instantly brings to thoughts PX or cream sherry casks, although with magnificence. Prunes, previous Malvasia, and barely ‘dressed’ classic Cognac additionally come to thoughts. The dates finally take the lead. With water: a contact of potting soil, a couple of mushrooms, and a few espresso grounds. Mouth: very wealthy, creamy, nearly candy, with muscat and certainly PX. Then aged plum eau-de-vie, liqueur-filled chocolate, spiced damsons, and people explosively juicy sultanas once more. It’s candy and indulgent. With water: a faint metallic edge emerges, together with some barely tart fruits (starfruit, physalis) and walnut liqueur. Inevitably harking back to sure Speyside whiskies closely influenced by sherry. End: lengthy, primarily on melted chocolate and prunes. Feedback: I moderately suspect this got here from a real solera butt, although I might be mistaken. What’s typically known as a “sherry monster” in whisky parlance.
SGP:751 – 88 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 23 yo 1988/2011 (57%, OB, cask #92414, Warehouse #55)
It appears they’ve a minimum of fifty-five warehouses at Miyagikyo, except that is for the entire of Nikka. Color: gold. Nostril: shares sure traits with the 1991, however with way more magnificence—delicate herbs, flowers like jasmine and wisteria, then certainly sultanas and classic Cognac with a touch of peach liqueur. There’s additionally a contact of Iberian ham, plum wine, Corinth raisins, cinchona, and hints of juniper. A really, very beautiful nostril. With water: every little thing honeyed comes ahead, with a hint of rum. Mouth: a great deal of spices—pepper, black tea tannins, dried mandarin peels (chen-pi), then honey, maple syrup, and a contact of molasses. Loads of rancio, with notes of Maury and Rivesaltes. It actually doesn’t maintain again this time. With water: it appears we’ve tamed it. Very charming sweet-savoury and bittersweet qualities emerge—prunes, raisins, ham, marzipan, black tea… End: lengthy, extra chocolatey and spiced. There’s somewhat word of aged juniper and bitter almond liqueur, which we discover pleasant. Feedback: an previous Miyagikyo with a lot to say in the event you give it time. Including water is, after all, beneficial however should be performed sparingly to keep away from drying it out all of the sudden.
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 17 yo 1987/2005 (62%, OB, sherry cask, cask #89698, Warehouse #4)
One other sherry, which we think about to be fairly pronounced as soon as once more. Color: espresso. Nostril: we’re totally within the model of an amazing Speyside whisky from a superb first-fill sherry cask—be it from Craigellachie, Dufftown, or Ballindalloch. In different phrases, there’s no distinctly “Japanese” character right here, however moderately an abundance of espresso liqueur, Corinth raisins, pipe tobacco, prunes, old-school Armagnac, darkish chocolate, very darkish honey, candied sugar, with a touch of mint and soy sauce. With water: roasted nuts, a percolator in full swing, chocolate cake contemporary from the oven, and plum tart, additionally simply out of the oven. Mouth: a large, excessive sherry profile, peppery and closely marked by darkish chocolate. A bit tough in cask power kind—it undoubtedly wants water. With water: a contact of broth, lemon juice, thyme, barely burnt walnuts, and loads of bitter chocolate. End: very lengthy, with black tea, espresso espresso, and bitter chocolate. It takes no prisoners. Roasted pecans and darkish tobacco linger within the aftertaste. Feedback: one may say that when a Japanese distiller labels one thing “sherry,” they really imply it. In any case, this bottling is ideal, regardless of—or maybe due to—its barely extreme nature.
SGP:652 – 90 factors. |
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And now, blow your trumpets, Christmas angels…
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Karuizawa 50 yo 1965+1972/2024 ‘The Marriage’ (54.8%, The Whisky Change Cupboard, 50 bottles)
80% 1965 and 20% 1972, married for 2 years. Bought as an NFT however thank heavens it’s not a ‘mini-NFT’ we’re swirling within the tulip glass. A quick recap for newcomers: certainly one of whisky’s best mysteries stays why the official Karuizawas from house owners Mercian/Kirin, or the pure malts they produced within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties (8 – 10 – 12 – 15 – 17 – 21 yo), remained moderately modest in each high quality and repute, regardless of incomes worldwide medals (which, let’s face it, everybody has). In Europe, a minimum of, nobody was notably in the event you noticed a bottle right here or there at a pageant. Karui…what? Then, discerning lovers unearthed far superior single casks in Japan (kudos to our pal Bert Vuik!), shared them, and shortly, ‘savvy traders’ started taking discover, buying remaining shares from the now-closed distillery. The bigger distributors in London, Paris, and elsewhere began releasing the primary ‘trendy’ Karuizawas, the overwhelming majority of remarkable high quality. Costs skyrocketed, and the remainder is historical past. Extra just lately, a brand new Karuizawa distillery has been established, although their first whisky isn’t anticipated till the 2030s. Let’s savour this new 50-year-old… Color: amber. Nostril: from the primary whiff, we encounter a reasonably basic previous Armagnac profile, with prunes taking the lead. However that doesn’t final lengthy, as malt, espresso, mint, and tar quickly assert themselves, adopted by the scent of previous books discovered within the attic and a basket brimming with dried fruits—dates and figs particularly. In the end, it begins to resemble a Springbank LB ex-sherry distilled round 1965–1966 (what a coincidence!) … and maybe a contact of M. from these years too. A grand classic impact that appears to have travelled from Scotland all the way in which to Japan. With water: peach jam enters the fray, lending a real high quality of a type of mix of previous ‘M’ (Golden Promise) and previous folle blanche armagnac. A faintly earthy/sulphury edge, typical of Karuizawa ex-sherry, emerges subsequent. However we’re speaking good sulphur, ala M. from Dufftown. Menthol hovers within the background. Mouth (neat): immensely wealthy, instantly centered on dried fruits and pipe tobacco. Dates, figs, pears, raisins, and certainly prunes, alongside toffee, hints of historical absinthe and verbena, and more and more minty tones of all kinds intertwined with liquorice and really previous pu-ehr tea. These nearly lend a faintly refreshing high quality. With water: a deeply honeyed, fruity tobacco (suppose orange marmalade) claims dominance over the fragrant panorama. Echoes of a very previous sherry V.O.R.S. reappear. End: splendidly tertiary, brimming with notes of leather-based, beautiful pepper, and tobacco. Lingering peppered orange marmalade and ultra-dark chocolate take centre stage within the aftertaste. Although the end is notably woody, right here that’s removed from a flaw, quite the opposite. One’s thoughts drifts again to a venerable previous armagnac. Feedback: the one slight pity is that it was fully as anticipated—totally magical.
SGP:662 – 93 factors.
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(Large because of the Golden Promise bar in Paris and to Whisky Journal & High quality Spirits)
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