Whew. I did five consecutive posts last week, while traveling with child. Ain't gonna do that again under those circumstances. I’m scaling
back to two this week and then work back up to three again soon. Here's one last Japanese whisky post
today, something a little different on Thursday, and then we’ll be back to our
regularly scheduled reviews next week.
I started this string of one dozen Japan posts with some observations about the state of the Japanese whisky retail market. One of the main points in that post was
a complaint about the quality of the newer non-age-statement Japanese whiskies
taking up most of the real estate on liquor store shelves. Suntory’s Distillers Reserves were the
focus of this gripe. For a different look, here’s a
review of an NAS single malt from Nikka's Yoichi distillery.
Ownership: Nikka
Distillery:
Yoichi
Region: Hokkaido,
Japan
Type: Single Malt
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Bottle size:
180mL
NEAT
The color is
medium gold. The nose leads with tart apples, unripe
pears, paint fumes, and banana candy.
There’s some Lagavulin-style peating, but at half power. With time, it all gets a little darker. Steel wool, coal, dirty socks, rocks,
and lime zest. As for the palate, take Johnnie Walker Black Label**, then add peat and subtract caramel and sherry. It’s lightly sweet, lightly peppery. Maybe some coal smoke in there. It’s mild in a blendy sort of way. It finishes
with sugar, salt, pepper, and a hint of peat ash. It holds for a decent length considering its age and
strength. After a while, there are hints of both cardboard and raspberry candy.
Since this was bottled at 43%abv, while the Suntories were
bottled at 40%, I reduced it down to that level.
WITH WATER
(~40%abv)
The nose picks up
black licorice farts (a thing).
The peat gets dirtier, grungier.
The lime sticks around, and the apple note grows brighter. A moment of chlorine shows up after a
few minutes. The palate gets pepperier and picks a
little bit of herbal bitterness. Some
vanilla bean and granulated sugar.
It is noticeably thinner and the peat fades. The finish is much briefer and seems to be mostly sugar.
My notes say, “Not terrible!”. It is young whisky, likely coming from neither the best nor
worst of Yoichi’s casks. I can
tolerate the paint fumes, but could do without the banana candy in the nose. The cardboard note taints the otherwise
acceptable finish. Overall it could be
interchangeable with a medium-range (and more expensive) blend, though it swims
much better than many of those. Meanwhile,
the palate is more than okay and the whole package is two steps better than
Suntory’s Distillers Reserves, even when the Yoichi is reduced to 40%abv.
So while the age stated Yoichis are better, this NAS isn't a complete tragedy. And if you're traveling in Japan and need a quick cheap casual drink for your backpack or computer bag, this is a reliable choice. (Though, Nikka From The Barrel is the best for this purpose, often selling as low as $15.)
Pricing - ¥665 for the 180mL bottle (about $6 using current rates)
Rating - 79
**I would happily choose this over Johnnie Walker Black Label, despite the fact that this score is lower than the grades I've given JWBL. That is because, over the past two years, the quality of the Black Label has plummeted. Two years ago, I stated that my fourth Black Label review would be my last. The whisky has changed so much that I may need to do another review before 2015 is over.
This is great and I mean that. Whisk(e)y is an amazing beverage.
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't imagine purposefully reaching for a bottle that has been described with the sentences - "The nose picks up black licorice farts (a thing)." Along with "Steel wool, coal, dirty socks, rocks, and lime zest" - there are those who find that very whisk(e)y serviceable and a decent value.
Gotta love it. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Anon! To each his or her own. When I was at the zoo last week, the elephant crap reminded me of Ledaig. Delicious Ledaig.
DeleteFantastic. You got me laughing on that reply!
DeleteThanks! :)
Delete