Saturday 24 January 2015

Tasted #153 - #156: Two single cask Yamazakis and two Yamazaki 12 component whiskies

As mentioned the other day, our visit to the Suntory Hakushu distillery last month uncovered an amazing find in the form of the distillery bar, with some seriously cheap whiskies for tasting (see the article or photo below for examples).

Of course, being TimeforWhisky.com, we weren't going to taste all those whiskies and not write about them, were we? No, no we weren't. We already covered the first four (Hakushu and Chita) whiskies tasted a few days ago, so now it's onto the Yamazaki whiskies we tried during the same visit...

Yamazaki 1986 Single Cask (51% ABV, cask 6B0168, NAS, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Dark, rich copper.
Nose: Molasses, cask strength rum!
Palate: Furniture polish, leather, slightly sour, but not to the point of spoiling the experience.
Finish: Incredibly short, sour and oaky.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.


Yamazaki 1995 Single Cask (62% ABV, cask 5P70008 NAS, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Pale straw.
Nose: Sweet. with honey-like, ex-bourbon sweetness.
Palate: Mouth-filling and rich. Slightly hot. Lamingtons and cake icing.
Finish: Short, sweet and hot.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.


Yamazaki "Sherry Cask" component whisky for Yamazaki 12 (50% ABV, 12yo, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Dark copper.
Nose: Very sweet - at a guess I'd say ex-PX. Plums and berries.
Palate: Cherry-like. Much dryer than the nose suggests. Hints of port, big bold shiraz, and dark rich red berries.
Finish: Short and drying, with lots of oak influence.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. Not bad but not something I'd choose to drink every day.


Yamazaki "Mizunara Cask" component whisky for Yamazaki 12 (50% ABV, 12yo, Japan, not available for purchase)
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Colour: Yellow golden
Nose: Coconut and paprika. Lots of pepper and spice.
Palate: Banana toast (but not like a young whisky or new make) sprinkled with coconut.
Finish: Medium length, drying and "dusty. Hints of spice at the very end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. 



Cheers,
Martin.

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