Mars Le Papillon A.cardamines 4YO 2015-2020 Sherry Butt #3397 58%abv

Nose: Raisins, currants, pepper, Christmas cake, blueberry muffins, black plums. Brandy, euchalyptus, leather, sweet tobacco, Ribena. Water adds vanilla, pork crackling and fresh chopped lemon rind.
Palate: Creamed sherry, guava, raspberries, oranges. Macadamias, cashews, almonds, pepper, pickled ginger, pumpernickel, varnish. With water the vanilla and pork crackling plus iced coffee.
Finish: Maraschino cherries, cashews, menthol, toffee apples, oak, peanut butter, minerals. Water enhances the toffee apples. Full bodied.
Palate: Young Mars sherry cask matured whiskies are proving to be more consistant that the old sherry cask matured stuff. This one is super!

Rating: 91/100

Eigashima Single Malt Whisky 2020 Sherry Casks 50%abv

Nose: Cherries, incense, vanilla, toffee apple, flambe orange, coffeed beans, BBQ sauce. The struck match I’ve found in virtually every sherry cask matured whisky from Eigashima/White Oak. Water brings out a savory note.
Palate: Cream sherry, orange candy, butter, nutmeg. Burnt toast, burnt euchalyptus, coffee beans. Water adds grapefruit. Medium bodied.
Finish: Sherry, nutmeg, roasted chestnuts, burnt toast, burnt euchalyptus, coffee beans. Water enhances the burnt euchalyptus and ends with some subtle oak dryness.
Last Word: All in all a fairly untaxing sherry cask matured whisky. It most likely won’t blow your mind but probably won’t offend to many either.

Rating: 82/100

Okayama Single Malt Sherry Cask Debut 58%

Nose: Cream sherry, almonds, cashews, macadamias, seared orange slices, nutmeg, brandy soaked cherries. Sweet tobacco, pepper and a savoury note.
Palate: Pecans, cinnamon, raisins, currants, plums, blood oranges. Brandy snaps, black cherries, sweet tobacco, licorice, demerara sugar. Tangy & juicy fruits. Full bodied.
Finish: Long on currants, raisins, vanilla, sweet tobacco, licorice, demerara sugar.
Last Word: What a surprise packet and in a great way. Balanced and complex for what must be young whisky. Reminicent of some of the better Yamazaki Sherry Cask Whiskies or Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask Whisky without the hotter spices. This was a bottle open at the bar and I believe others that tried this after me have been equally impresse.

Rating: 90/100
*Note: Tasted at Aloha Whisky Bar Tokyo

White Oak Akashi Imo Sherry Cask 3YO 50%abv

Nose: You can easily make out the sherry cask influence even though the sherry casks previously held shochu before whisky. This is the creamy nutty style of sherry rather than dried fruits like raisins. Also grilled peppers, agave, vinegar, balsamic and a touch of struck match. A perfume note but not overbearing. With water the struck match is heightened.
Palate: Currants, vanilla, roasted chestnuts, almonds, cashews, the grilled peppers. With water some tangy citrus, salt, pepper and overall feels more rounded. Medium bodied
Finish: Vanilla, balsamic, nutty sherry, the touch of struck match and quite some drying oak. Decent length if you don’t mind the dryness. With water some pleasant mintiness.
Last Word: While it doesn’t blow my mind it’s still a respectable dram. There is something a little unusual in the mix which I will assume is the cask influence. Kudos to little White Oak Distillery for experimenting with so many different cask types.

Rating: 82/100

Mars Le Papillon 2015 4YO Sherry Butt # 5152 58%abv

P1050438Nose: Sweet marsala, nutmeg, seared orange slices, toffee, an earthy note, candy coated nuts, BBQ sauce, plum sauce, Turkish Delight, some flintiness, tar. With water this is more earthy also, vanilla, hession, sea spray.
Palate: Sherry, cherries, ash, coal, tar, earthy peat, toffee, cashews, juicy dates, salt, pepper, oranges. Full bodied with a medium peating level. With water more tart, tangy and smokey.
Finish: Long on cherries, dates, toffee, ash, cashews, cacao nibs, cigar leaf, earthy peat. Water adds bonfire smoke and peppermint.
Last Word: Almost half the bottle has gone and I’m going to have to hind this one from myeslf. Great young whisky! Mars does not always get sherry cask matured whisky right but they’ve nailed it with this one!

Rating: 90/100

Yamazaki SMWS 2003 11YO Bota Corta Cask 118.14 53.9%abv

Yamazaki SMWS Bota Corta Cask 119.14 53.9%abv-2Nose: The darkest cherries, brandy, raspberry coulis, nutmeg, cinnamon, raisins, the ubiquitous Christmas Cake.
Palate: Blood oranges, raspberries, nutmeg, cocoa, Christmas Cake, Guinness Stout, tea tannin’s, sweet tobacco, peanut butter, red skinned peanuts.
Finish: Dry sherry, wood tannin’s, stout, cherries, raspberry conserve, nutmeg, sweet tobacco and lots of orange citric tang.
Last Word: Makes an impact at only 11 years old and very enjoyable at that! To think these were only around a couple of hundred bucks when first release! Heavy sigh!
*Taste at Bar Te – Airigh Chichibu.

Rating: 90/100

The Japanese Whisky Review – 500 Japanese Whiskies Tasted!

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So what does it take for the average self funded Japanese Whisky Aficionado to reach 500 Japanese Whiskies tasted? 10 years, being in the right place at the right time, spending time on the ground in Japan making contacts, unwavering enthusiasm and a whole lot of hard earned cash!
How hard was it? That is a story of 2 parts. The “Glory” days between May 2009 (the first time I visited Japan) and roughly 2014 and the leaner times after that of rocketing prices and limited availability.
Getting to 100 was relatively easy. 200 wasn’t that hard either. From memory even 300 wasn’t too bad. Beyond that it felt like hitting a brick wall and if your’e like me and just an average middle class Joe, you already know the reasons why. I won’t rehash here recent Japanese Whisky history and why prices are so high and stock levels/variety so limited, there are enough stories on the net using a simple Google search.
The majority of Japanese Whiskies I’ve tasted have been drinkable at the very least all the way up to stellar. There have been some total duds of coarse which is to be expected.
Favorite distillery style is from Yoichi and I admire Yamazaki and Chichibu for innovation and at least when you can get them, variety. Most often imbibed daily dram is Nikka From the Barrel.
Most underrated distillery in Miyagikyo and most overrated is Karuizawa. I’ve tasted about the same amount of bottling’s from Mars Whisky as I have Karuizawa and overall I’d choose Mars any day. I’ll throw in a number of Hanyu Card series as overrated at least for the price they command these days.
For those wondering if there will ever be a return to the “Glory” days of cheap prices, easy access and lots of variety I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad tiding’s. As long as supply exceeds demand no way! Not only that, even when the big players Suntory and Nikka bring a variety of age statement whiskies back on line they have repeatedly said they see their products as premium. This means they will continue to charge commensurate premium prices compared to say, Scottish whiskies of the same age and availability. I do look forward however to the 3 year old bottling’s that will be released in 2020 from the newer distilleries such as Akkeshi, Shizuoka, Kanosuke and Mars Tsunuki. 2020 will also be banner year for Chichibu who will release their first official 10 year old whisky.
Finally I’ll list 25 Japanese Whiskies that aren’t daily drams that I would always love to have a stash of. These are whiskies that left an immediate impression and haven’t failed since.
Hibiki 21
The Hakushu SM Aged 15 Years 500ml 56%
The Hakushu Single Malt Sherry Cask #9O 50021 1989 TWE 62%
Suntory Owners Cask Hakushu 2000-2011 #EL 41914 Smoky & Bitter 57%
Suntory Owners Cask Bar Hermit Private Stock Yamazaki 1996 Sherry Butt 13YO #AX70004 60%
The Cask of Yamazaki 1993 Heavily Peated #3Q70047 62%
Suntory Blended Whisky For The Peninsula Tokyo 2014 43% Sherry Casks of Yamazaki, Hakushu, Chita
Miyagikyo Single Cask 1996 16YO Sherry Cask 60% #118913
Taketsuru Pure Malt 35YO
Yoichi Single Cask 1994 18YO #400749 Warehouse 25 62%
Yoichi Single Cask 1988-2013 23YO Warehouse 25 #100212 62%
Yoichi Peaty and Salty 1989 12YO Single Cask #251224 63.3%abv
Yoichi 20
Karuizawa 1992 #6978 62.8%
Mars Moltage 3 and 25 28YO 46%
Mars Malt Gallery 1985 23YO #324 American White Oak 58%
Mars Komagatake Single Cask Vintage 1989 23YO 63.5% Cognac Limousin Cask #1060
Mars Komagatake 27 years old Sherry Casks / American White Oak Cask 46%
Kawasaki Single Grain Sherry Butt 1982 28YO # 7414 65.5%
Chichibu Mizunara Puncheon Cask # 89 2008-2017 58.2%
Ichiro’s Malt 8 of Clubs 1988 23YO #7100 57.5
Ichiro’s Malt The Game 2000 9YO 61.2%
Ichiro’s Malt SC for Takashimaya 1991 18YO 46.5%
The Single Malt Chichibu Golden Horse 12-year-old, Bottle # 0263 2008 56%
Ichiro’s Malt and Grain Kiyosato Field Ballet 26th Anniversary Bottling 48%abv

White Oak Akashi 10YO Old Sherry Butt Cask #105206 60%abv

P1050403Nose: Maraschino cherries, incense, plums grilled on a Korean BBQ, brandy covered Christmas pudding. Oriental tea, coal fired copper, orangey bourbon, cream cherry, flinty.
Palate: Dark plums and cherries, grilled orange slices, coal fired copper, brandy, vanilla, blackcurrant jam, the flint, herbaceous oriental tea. Water adds more fruits but but of the candied type.
Finish: Leather, tobacco, coal fired copper, burnt orange, flint, sherry, brandy, mint cherry.
Last Word: 10 years in this particular cask seems about spot on. The overriding impression is something peculiarly oriental in nature.

Rating: 87/100

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2019 Report

The 2018 report was once again the most viewed post on the Japanese Whisky Review. Not surprising that given the Japanese Whisky drought, even more folks are keen to know where and when stuff is available. Comments were up by almost 200 on the 2017 report with 631 vs 433. A big shout out to all those who commented, especially the regulars!
I think we all know 2019 will be at least as tough buying Japanese Whisky in Japan as 2018 but every contribution counts so please keep the comments coming this year. I know from personal experience I was able to grab a number of bottles in 2018 that I would have missed out on if readers hadn’t advised of pending releases!
Kampai
Brian AKA Dramtastic

Malt Bar SouthPark Tokyo Japanese Whisky

Visited on a Saturday night at around 9PM. For a well stocked whisky bar strangely quite. This may have to do with the fact that it is not inside a major Tokyo hub such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza or Roppongi. From Shinjuku station it’s about a 12-15 minute taxi ride. From about 10PM to 1.30am it was just myself and another guy I met there. Good thing is that if you are in a bar like this it’s easy to meet and chat with people about whisky because no one is there by accident.
Of course I was here for Japanese Whisky like most of the bars visited on this trip. Through a Facebook message I was advised by the bar they had approximately 300 whiskies. Seemed like more. Mostly Scottish Whiskies but I would say a more than decent selection of Japanese Whiskies. Whether you are new to Japanese whisky or a veteran, there should be enough options to satisfy. As many readers would know if you are in Japan and show enthusiasm about anything to the locals they get right on board. So what you may initially see at the bar isn’t necessarily all they have. I started with a Single Cask Chichibu then a Suntory’s Owners Cask Single Cask Yamazaki from a Sherry Butt. Once I’d talked about my passion for Japanese Whisky with the bar staff all of a sudden out comes another four Owner’s Casks that were not initially on view. IMG_0101
Then a couple of rare Hanyu appeared. As the Owners Casks were different styles you could probably just go for those and walk away happy. Apart from the Sherry Butt I tried a very tasty Owner’s Cask Heavily Peated Yamazaki. A budget of roughly Y10,000 will get you 3 Single Cask Japanese whiskies to try. Of course can spend more. I asked the price of one of the Hanyu in the picture below furthest to the right and it was Y6,800. IMG_0098
If that’s not in the budget for a full shot and your are keen, then ask for a half shot. Definitely a recommended bar for Japanese Whisky.

White Oak Akashi Old Sherry Butt #5184 Aged 8 Years 50%abv

P1050327Nose: Lightly sherried, oak, orange peel, cantaloupe, cashew nuts.
Palate: Again the light sherry, butter, honey(not uncommon in Akashi White Oak whiskies), scones, butterscotch, gingerbread.
Finish: Light sherry, butterscotch, cashews, mixed citrus peel.
Last Word: I prefer a heavier style of sherry cask matured whisky but if your in the mood for something lighter this one is pretty decent.

Rating: 82/00

Suntory Blended Whisky For The Peninsula Tokyo 2014 43%abv

P1050318Nose: At 43%abv it’s no heavy hitter but elegant and complex. Dark cherries, roasted chestnuts, raisins, vanilla, Valencia oranges, nutmeg, red grapes, a waxy note, Cherry Ripes, subtle oak, brandy snaps.
Palate: Faithfully follow’s the nose for the most part but the oak is definitely firmer. There is also cloves and old leather. Water brings out sultana’s, mint milk chocolate, red berries and cocoa powder. The fruit flavors are nice and juicy.
Finish: Medium length on mint milk chocolate, menthol, nutmeg, oak and cocoa.
Last Word: High quality and classy blend with classic Suntory Sherry Cask matured whisky elements wrapped up in a elegant package. I’ll add that in reality much darker in color than the photo which is heavily backlit.

Rating: 92/100

White Oak Akashi Single Malt Uozumi Sherry & Bourbon Casks NAS 46%abv

P1050305Nose: Oloroso sherry, honey, charred oak, pepper, nutmeg, paprika, maple syrup, dried apricot and dried mango. A floral not that becomes stronger though not intrusive when water is added.
Palate: Some big wood spices, Oloroso sherry, orange, nutmeg, cocoa. Water adds some chili heat, roasted nuts and dried mango.
Finish: Chewy mints, honey, pepper, dried fruit and palate drying wood.
Last Word: Solid mix of sherry and bourbon cask whisky that can often be hit and miss in my experience and I’m a fan of spicy whiskies.

Rating: 85/100

Largest Known Collection of Karuizawa Hitting the Auction Block

Whisky Auctioneer, a UK based auction house, has announced an exclusive auction of the largest know collection of Karuzizawa whisky. 290 bottles in total and while nothing like their claim of “includes close to every expression created by the renowned Japanese distillery”, Whiskybase lists 460 expressions, it is still very impressive. The lots include the 1960 pictured. Karuizawa1960.jpg
According to the website the lots are being sold individually and while there may be a record price broken here or there for individual bottling’s, I would have loved to have seen a single lot auction where I’m sure the single lot price would have been smashed for any collection of whisky. Auction kicks off on the 5th of April and runs through to 17th of April. FYI, with the prices of Karuizawa these days I didn’t bother registering to bid : ).

Miyagikyo 20YO Single Sherry Cask #117483 60%abv

P1050280Nose: Big rich sherry for sure. The usual suspects of raisins, prunes, dates, cherries, Christmas cake,caramelized orange juice. Also treacle, nutmeg, paprika, white pepper, black tea, pine, dark chocolate, licorice and old leather. For mine, a great sherry cask nose.
Palate: Again rich with well controlled oak. Nicely balanced bitter and sweet. Follows the nose closely but there is also, walnuts, Brazil nuts and peanuts.
Finish: Is long and fruity with some pine, menthol and tannins.
Last Word: Miyagikyo whisky is mostly thought of as light/soft/delicate. Try one of their single cask whiskies and you will discover how robust and interesting they can be. For myself this is a highly underrated distillery. With prices somewhat less that the Japanese big four, Karuizawa, Hanyu, Yamazaki and Yoichi, jump in and grab some Miyagikyo Single Cask Whisky while the going is still relatively good.

Rating: 92/100

Mars Astronomical Observation Bottling 1991 24YO Sherry Cask #157 59%abv

IMG_4004Nose: If it did not say Sherry Cask on the label I would not pick this as a sherry cask matured whisky. Vanilla, toasted oak, grapefruit, orange zest, maple syrup on toasted crumpets, apple sauce. With water added a floral note and white peach emerge.
Palate: Heavy hit of spices that is pretty overwhelming. Ginger, pepper, chili. Baked apples, grapefruit, Brazil nuts. Really needs a large splash of H2O to quell the spicy fire but when added there is some lychee, coconut and nougat.
Finish: Ginger, Brazil nuts, slightly burnt apple pie, nougat and drying oak.
Last Word: Quite the oddity as it is not like any other sherry cask matured whisky I’ve tasted whether from Scotland, Japan or the Mars Distillery itself. Not an unpleasant dram when watered down but not a favorite especially when compared with the many great sherry cask whiskies I’ve tried. Long way to go to the end of the bottle so we will see how it develops.

Rating: 83/100

Mars Komagatake Sherry & White Oak Casks 3YO 57%ABV

P1020584Nose: Sherry, orange jus, cereal notes, a little struck match, bread dough, mouldy orange peel, grapefruit.
Palate: Vanilla, butter, cream, bread dough, pepper, mouldy orange peel, green vegetables.
Finish: Struck match, vanilla, sherry, orange jus, boiled greens.
Last Word: The casks blended into this don’t really gel. At the same age(3YO), Mars The Revival bottling is a far better option.

Rating: 79/100

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2016 Report

***Please see the 2017 report here for the latest buying reports***
It’s been a year since I wrote the post Buying Japanese Whisky In Japan Nothing But Scorched Earth so time to see if anything as changed. The main reason for the 12 month update is that particular post still generates a huge number of views and the vast majority of emails I receive are from people travelling to Japan and asking where to by whisky. This new post is based on my experience travelling to Tokyo early last month.

If anything has changed it may be that things are even more bleak than last year. The situation where large groups travelling from other countries in Asia especially China on organised shopping tours pillaging all the limited release and age statement Japanese whiskies is now virtually non existent. The reason being is there is almost none of that stuff left to buy anyway.

Whether it be large liquor retailers such as Liquors Hasegawa, Shinanoya, the liquor section of department stores like Isetan or Takeshimaya or the local 7 Eleven the main offerings are pretty much the same. You’re looking at no age statement blends from Suntory, Nikka, Kirin, Mars and Akashi, no age statement single malts from Nikka and Suntory, Nikka The Blend 12YO, Nikka Coffey Grain and Coffey Malt, Taketsuru NAS, Hibiki Harmony. There is quite a lot mini bottles of Yamazaki 12 around. Isetan still had some of their in house only Mars Tsunagu Blend available. Liquors Hasegawa had some Yamazaki LE 2015 but as they sold out everywhere else last year the price was at a premium of Y22,000. You can buy something like Yamazaki 18YO Narita Airport amongst the very limited number of offering’s available there but it’s still the travel exclusive bottling with the fancy label for Y50000.
If you do go to Liquors Hasegawa it may be worthwhile asking if they have anything interesting not on the shelves, I know they had some but again be prepared to pay a decent premium above the original retail price. Shinanoya had some Hakushu 12YO. It is always worth while checking out any of these places as you may be lucky, well very lucky, to be there on a day when one of their in in house bottling’s becomes available. That’s if they haven’t all pre sold before they hit the shelves. I was lucky enough to grab the one bottle of Hakushu 18YO left on the shelf at Shinanoya Kabukicho branch, how that lasted I have no idea but of course even at Y24000 I didn’t hesitate. A bottle of Chichibu On The Way from Liquors Hasegawa for about the original retail price of Y9,500 and a bottle of Kirin Small Batch 18 YO Blend for Y26000 at a small liquor store in the vicinity of Hakoneyumoto Station. The latter two where also last bottles left. Yamazaki distillery had a dozen bottle of Hibiki 12 and their 300ml No age statement Single Malt available to buy but by the end of my 1 hour tour and a few whiskies at the bar they were all sold out. So you may walk into any liquor store and fluke an interesting bottle but they are not available on mass all of the time.
I was discussing the Japanese Whisky scene with the manager of Liquors Hasegawa and he mentioned that only three years ago they were lucky to sell 12 bottles of Japanese Whisky a month.

In relation to bars I only went to a few, you can still try the Yoichi age statement range at least up to the 15 year old, Takestsuru 17 and 21, Hakushu 12 and 18YO and the same from Yamazaki, also Hibki 12,17 and 21 year olds. The famous Zoetrope still has a lot of different bottling’s but you can forget about anything from Karuizawa or Hanyu Card Series. In fact I think there was only a few Hanyu left to try at Zoetrope and a very limited range of single casks from Yoichi, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Akashi and Mars. Yamazaki distillery(took a day trip with some family) is still a good place to try single cask component malts at very reasonable prices. I tasted one dram each of cask strength Heavily Peated, Sherry and Mizunara casks for Y2500 in total.

So what will happen moving forward. Not much in the short to medium term, say three to 8 years. It’s true that the big players such as Nikka and Suntory have ramped up production but when this will bear fruit in regards to age statement whiskies is anyone’s guess but I’d say maybe 5-6 years. There were quite a number of new bottling’s from Chichibu over the last 12 months but unfortunately many of these are single cask single malts or single class blends that sell out very quickly in Japan. Mars released a few new bottling’s but again most sell out quickly in Japan, same with Akashi. Good for those smaller output distilleries but not of much use to most Japanese whisky enthusiasts. Yamazaki LE 2016 was released last month and pretty much sold out straight away. Horigami-san owner of Zoetrope bar told there are three new distilleries coming on line this year. That’s great but they will not make any impact for at least 3 years when they can be classified as whisky and even then will they just be three new versions of Chichibu. That is to say, smallish production runs that sell out very quickly if they are good quality and hardly if at all impact the amount of Japanese whiskies available outside of Japan. In the meanwhile prices for no longer available at retail bottling’s of Japanese whisky will remain high due to supply and Japan. Still lenty available on the auction circuit for those with deep pockets. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Yes, but at them moment it’s a long tunnel and the light is fairly dim.

Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 48%abv

P1050273Nose: No surprises if you have nosed a good Yamazaki Sherry Cask matured whisky. Dark cherries, tinned plums, blueberries, cherry ripe chocolate, caramelized orange jus, raisins, molasses, mint chocolate. Not a heavy hitting nose but really top notch none the less and continues to improve as it opens up with time.
Palate: Chocolate coated coffee beans, raisins, Brazil nuts, caramelized orange jus, cloves, salt, pistachio nougat. Balance is good but I would prefer a little more mouth coating rich fruitiness.
Finish: Some drying oak, cloves and lingers on the bittersweet chocolate coated coffee beans. Short, or more to the point not a lot of power in the length. Still, one you would have memories of the finish the following day.

Last Word: I’ve seen these sell at auction for around 2000 British Pounds recently. In reality, worth about the the original retail price of USD$300. If your going to spend that sort of money or even half as much I’d be going for one of the Single Cask Yamazaki Sherry Butt whiskies. The nose is the highlight.

Rating: 88/100

Karuizawa 1979-2013 33YO Sherry Butt #7752 59.9%

Karuizawa 1979 33YO Sherry Cask #7712 59.9%.jpgNose: Candied nuts, caramelized orange slices, mixed peel, sweet spices, cloves, cola, leather.
Palate: Mixed peel, caramelized orange slices, caramel, black cherries, wood stain, peach fuzz, cola, red grapes, Christmas cake.
Finish: Leather, mixed peel, cola, cloves and the caramelized orange slices.
Last Word: Nice complexity and I would say a well rounded and refined Karuizawa.

Rating: 90/100