Tasted #226: Yamazaki Single Cask Spanish Oak 2003 11yo

Back in December last year (during a holiday in Japan), we stumbled across Suntory's "Whisky Shop W" in Osaka (well, I say stumbled...truth be told I'd planned it weeks in advance it was the first place we visited when we arrived in Osaka....)

Without going into too much detail about Whisky Shop W (read this Nonjatta post for a great overview), it's Suntory's own shop in Osaka, and despite being small, always has a few goodies in store for the whisky lover, such as their 300mL shop-only bottlings of Hakushu, Yamazaki and Chita, which are incredible value and sadly sell for stupid amounts of money here in Hong Kong (we opened ours and shared it with friends).

Occasionally though, they have something even more special - sometimes behind the counter, sometimes something that you have to ask really nicely for.

On our visit, it was this 11 year old Yamazaki single cask, which I was lucky enough to pick up a bottle for (from memory) about $25AUD / $140HKD. I tried to buy two (the bottles are only 190mL) but they were strict - one bottle only. Understandable when I later saw these go for 12 times the price in Hong Kong...

Yamazaki Single Cask 2003-2014 Spanish Oak Bota Corta (55% ABV, Cask #ADDY3038, 11yo, Yamazaki, Japan, no longer available)
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Colour: Coffee. Dark, rich, coffee.

Nose: Rich, juicy plums and Christmas cake.

Palate: Rich red berries, luscious, juicy cherries,  and some cocoa. Coffee, brazil nuts and big Oloroso-style notes. So far - incredible.

Finish: Long, intense and tannic. Slightly sour but not in an off-putting way. Residual brazil nuts and cherries, and a mouth-puckering Oloroso sherry-like finish that makes you want to come back for more. If only the bottle held more....

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100. Amazing - one of the best single cask Japanese whiskies I've ever tried.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #185 & #186: SMWS 2.89 (Glenlivet) & 132.2 (Karuizawa)

Probably somewhat unsurprisingly, when Steph and I visited The Society in Tokyo (as part of our JapanTour14), we tried a few Scotch Malt Whisky Society drams. Namely, a 20 year old Glenlivet and a 22yo Karuizawa.

Thoughts?

Absolutely fantastic, both of them...

SMWS 2.89 "Slow cooked beef stew" Glenlivet (50.7% ABV, 20yo, One of 332 bottles from a refill hogshead, Speyside, Scotland, only available at auction now it seems)
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Colour: Orange copper

Nose: Fairy floss, followed by toffee.

Palate: Initially hot, but quickly settling to smooth, gentle mouthfilling pleasantness. Whipped cream (but not too sweet), meaty and thick, but also with notes of tropical fruits, and then candied fruits. Slight hints of orange peel and marmalade.

Finish: Short to medium length, with final notes of creme brûlée.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100.

SMWS 132.2 "Stunning panorama of exotic fruits" Karuizawa (62.4% ABV, 22yo, One of 355 bottles from a refill sherry butt, Karuizawa, Japan, only available at auction now it seems)
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Colour: Rich vibrant gold.

Nose: Closed up at first - grassy, candied lemons (even Yuzu lemons). A drop of water brings out more sweetness, in the form of sherbert.

Palate: Hot, so rich and full of plums, then sherbert (again), and finally licorice.

Finish: Slightly drying, spicy. Cherries. Very long, with the tiniest waft of smoke.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100. Fantastic, and not just because of the Karuizawa mystique (we tried one absolutely terrible Karuizawa on the trip too - not an SMWS bottling).

Cheers,

Martin.

Bar Review #15: The Society (Tokyo, Japan)

The last Tokyo bar visited as part of our JapanTour14 (before we moved onto whisky bars in Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Niseko and Sapporo - all to be reviewed soon) was The Society, part of the Park Hotel, not far from Tokyo's Ginza district. 

Conveniently located a short walk from the excellent Campbelltoun Loch, The Society is, as the name suggests, an official Scotch Malt Whisky Society bar (the first in Japan). As you might expect, there's a large (100+) selection of the famous green SMWS bottles, and if you don't feel like an SMWS expression...too bad! That's the only whisky on offer.

(When would you ever not feel like an SMWS dram, though?)

The dimly-lit and elegant venue has an illuminated marble U-shaped bar as its centrepiece, commanding views over Tokyo, and a wine rack absolutely full of SMWS bottles. It does feel ever so slightly like a "hotel bar" (albeit a very nice one), but you quickly forget that once you gaze at the menu, and realise what's on offer.

The standard menu contains a smattering of interesting SMWS drams, but it's the secret or member's menu you really want (to see that, show your SMWS membership card, or strike up a conversation with the bartender and hope for the best). Here you'll see Karuizawas and a number of other Japanese SMWS expressions - none of which feature on the regular menu.

Drams are served in official Society glasses (naturally) and while the bar didn't offer half-drams like most Japanese whisky bars, the prices were still very reasonable considering the rarity and quality of the drams on offer (for example - 6 Karuizawas, 132.1 to 132.6, ranging from ¥2100 to ¥5500, or $22AUD/$125HKD to $57AUD/$350HKD). Some drams were available for as little as ¥1400 ($14AUD/$90HKD) at members' prices, which was up to 40% cheaper than the non-member pricing.

The website states no cover charge, but I'm sure we paid a ¥1000 cover charge each (which is pretty standard for a number of smaller Japanese bars), so perhaps they've changed the policy. I'm back there in just over a week, so will confirm then.

There's not really much else to say about the bar - if you like whisky, would like to try some of the rarest, single cask, cask strength Scottish and Japanese malts around, in pleasant surroundings with great views over Tokyo, it's hard to look past this place.

The Society is located on the 25th floor of the Park Hotel Tokyo:

Shiodome Media Tower 1-7-1 Higashi Shimbashi, Minato-ku 1057227 Tokyo

Closest stations: Shiodome Station, Shimbashi Station

Tue-Sat : 22:00-25:30                                               

Sun-Mon: 22:00-23:00 

Cheers,

Martin.

Distillery Tour #4: Suntory Yamazaki Distillery (Japan)

It's taken a while to get around to writing this post, but on the same JapanTour14 trip where Steph and I visited the Suntory Hakushu Distillery, we also visited Yamazaki, located about 30 minutes from Osaka  (15 min from Kyoto) by JR train. Our visit again came thanks to some help from Suntory Australia.

As Japan's first malt whisky distillery, Yamazaki was established by Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii in 1923, making use of the town's "famous" water from the foot of Mount Tenno to (eventually) make a whisky to suit the delicate Japanese palate.

As a tour, the Yamazaki offering doesn't differ too greatly in format or sights to the Hakushu tour. There's a small visitor museum with plenty of historical bottles (including the first Suntory SMWS bottlings - 119.1 and 120.1), and the famous Yamazaki Library - which is worth a visit to the visitor centre on its own. There you'll find thousands and thousands of bottles of Suntory single malt, aged in a variety of different casks, at a variety of ages, and even some flavoured whiskies. We even saw a Lavender Yamazaki, and a Yamazaki Rye! Sadly all are for show and none are for tasting, but the distillery does have an excellent bar like Hakushu - more on that later.

 

Apart from that, you get the same guided tour, with an audio guide for non-Japanese speakers (which was actually the same recording as Hakushu in parts), a brief walk around the facilities and grounds (getting up close and personal in some areas, like the barrel house, and not so close to others, like the stills or washbacks), and a guided tasting / highball at the end.

As a distillery though, Yamazaki differs immensely to the much more modern Hakushu, and feels much more like a traditional Scottish distillery, with none of the automated cask management found at Hakushu. The distillery does feel big though - and gives the feeling of a large factory set amongst tranquil country side. 2013 saw Yamazaki install 4 new stills, bringing the total to 16, and while the distillation room was closed for maintenance, what we saw made it clear that this is a large operation.

We'll let the photos do the talking...

The barrel house provides some great photo opportunities, and also includes a little Japanese whisky history - casks first laid down in 1924! The eagle-eyed can also spot a few Chita (grain whisky) casks aging away too.

The shop is slightly smaller than Hakushu's, and doesn't include any unusual or distillery-edition bottlings (though you can buy bottles of Chita single grain). As with Hakushu, the bar is definitely worth spending some time at, with a very similar menu at the same excellent prices. If you've ever wanted to try Yamazaki 18 or 25, and not break the bank, this is the place. In fact, you can even try Hibiki 35yo, but at 15,000¥ (~$975HKD or $160AUD) for 10mL, we passed... 

The tour itself isn't going to blow the minds of hardcore malt fanatics, but as an entire experience (the tour, the library, the tasting bar, the museum) it's definitely worth a visit, especially if you happen to find yourself in Osaka or Kyoto with half a day to spare.

Cheers,

Steph & Martin.

Tasted #173: Glenfarclas 1979 34yo Family Cask for Shinanoya Tokyo

During our recent visit to Campbelltoun Loch, Tokyo (part of our JapanTour14), we were keen to try as many good drams as (sensibly) possible, but especially those which were either unique to Japan, or very difficult to find elsewhere. One that placed a big tick in that first box was this 34yo Glenfarclas Family Cask release, bottled specifically for Shinanoya (a bottle shop in Japan) on 31st July 2013 and distilled in 1979.

Glenfarclas 1979 34yo Family Cask bottled for Shinanoya (52.1% ABV, 34yo, one of 209 bottles from cask 8800, Speyside, Scotland, no longer available)
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Colour: Light gold

Nose: Steph and I walked past a lolly (sweet / confectionary) shop earlier in the day, and this smelled exactly like that - big sugary confectionary notes - boiled lollies most predominantly.

Palate: Easily one of the most unique whiskies I've ever tried. The notes on the nose carry right through, giving big notes of sour warheads and sour gummy worms (Steph got green frogs). There were some honey notes, but they took a big back seat to the sour lollies.

Finish: Medium to long, and sour to the very end. Certainly not what I was expecting.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Really good. But REALLY odd. But really good.

Cheers,
Martin (and Steph).

Tasted #166: Elements of Islay AR 4 Ardbeg (#101drams)

First tasting notes from our visit to Campbelltoun Loch are thanks to the Elements of Islay series - specifically Ardbeg Release #4.

Having tried a few of Elements' full strength, NAS, small batch releases (sometimes from single casks, sometimes not), I was keen to try one of their Ardbeg expressions - so much so, that I put one on my #101drams challenge. So here we go...


Elements of Islay AR4 (58.1% ABV, NAS Islay, Scotland, no longer available)
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Colour: Vibrant coppery gold.
Nose: Subtle peat smoke and some raspberry notes. Fruity sweetness, but not overpowering.
Palate: Still subtle smoke. Campfire smoke mostly - mossy, earthy, grassy smoke. Some sweet shortbread notes towards the end.
Finish: Long, smooth and campfire-smoky.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. A nice dram but there are no real standout characteristics.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #165: Johnnie Walker "The Royal Route" (#101drams)

The third, final, and most expensive release in Johnnie Walker's at-times controversial "Explorers' Club Collection" - "The Royal Route"* released after "Spice Road" and "The Gold Route", was unleashed on travel retail markets around the world in October 2013.

In my #101drams - a charitable challenge, I mentioned that I hoped to tick this one off after a May 2013 trip. Well, it took a little longer than that, but after countless trips I finally saw it for tasting at a duty-free shop in Japan's Narita Airport, in January 2015...


Johnnie Walker Explorer's Club Collection "The Royal Route" (40% ABV, NAS, Scotland, $159USD)
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Colour: Light gold.

Nose: Butterscotch and caramel. Some pineapple.

Palate: Grainy at first, with more pineapple (pineapple cakes more than fresh pineapple). Sweet toffee and caramel.

Finish: Short, sweet and smooth.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100. A fine and fitting end to the collection, though unlikely to challenge a die-hard Single Malt fan.

Cheers,
Martin.

* Could have sworn I saw this called the "Royal Silk Route" prior to its release, so perhaps it had a name before being released. Either way, it's officially called "The Royal Route".

Bar Review #14: Campbelltoun Loch (Tokyo, Japan)

A few weeks ago we posted up the first bar review from our recent Japan trip, namely Zoetrope in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and talked about their incredible and well-priced range of Japanese whisky.

Well, what Zoetrope is to Japanese whisky, Campbelltoun Loch is to Scottish whisky.

Also located in Tokyo, Campbelltoun Loch re-defined my image of a "small bar". We all know Sydney has some great "small" bars, but they're palaces, mansions even, compared to Campbelltoun Loch. I'd almost bet there are a lot of Sydney bars with stockrooms larger Campbelltoun Loch. 

See for yourself (my back was against the front door taking this picture):

But size is hardly an indicator of a quality bar, and Campbelltoun Loch have done their best to fill every single inch of the bar with quality whisky - the overwhelming majority of it Scottish, with a good mixture of both Original and Independent bottlings.

While there may only be room for 8 patrons, the staff (that'd be Nakamura Nobuyuki, the sole guy behind the bar in the photo above), clearly passionate about Scotch whisky, makes sure everyone feels welcome, regardless of which of their 300+ open bottles they choose to dram from.

The atmosphere was jovial but refined, with subtle jazz tunes filling the room and a mostly older (but very friendly) crowd. A brief look at the shelf confirms that whilst Nakamura may have been running Campbelltoun Loch for "only" 16 years, his collection of whisky goes well beyond that...

As with a lot of the Japanese whisky bars we visited, there's no menu and with such a variety (and my not terribly good eyesight), it was hard to see everything that was on offer. Prices were reasonable, with a dram of Balvenie 15yo Single Barrel (the new Sherry one) selling for about $90HKD/$15AUD, and as with almost all the bars we visited, half-drams were available (have I made it clear yet that Japan really is whisky lovers heaven? Because It is...)

There's a reasonable amount of world whiskies, including a single Sullivans Cove (from Australia) and Teeling 21 (from Ireland), but Scotch is clearly the focus.

Campbelltoun Loch can be a little tricky to find (though the address details and photo below should help), but it's absolutely worth the trouble. Whisky fans could do worse than a few drams at the Park Hotel's SMWS Society bar (review up soon), followed by a few nightcaps here. Or vice versa.

Campbelltoun Loch, Tokyo
Address: 1-6-8 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku
Nearest station: Yurakucho or Hibiya (exit A4)

Cheers.

Martin.

Tasted #159 - #163: Ichiro's Malt Cards Series (Hanyu) Ace of Diamonds, Yamazaki Mizunara 2014, Miyagikyo 1987, Hanyu from the last year of production...and more!

A few weeks ago we posted a review of the fantastic Zoetrope bar in Tokyo, Japan, as part of a trip Steph and I recently took to Japan. As with every bar we visited, we tasted some amazing, rare, unusual (and generally, insanely cheap) whiskies.

Here are the five we tasted at Zoetrope (who conveniently are happy to serve most drams by the half-dram), including not just any Ichiro's Malt "Cards" bottling, but an Ace! Sadly (but unsurprisingly) they'd run out of their Colour Joker stocks...

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) "Cards" series Ace of Diamonds (56.4% ABV, 21yo, Bottle #407 of 527, Cask 9023, Hanyu, Japan, no longer available)

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Distilled in 1986, bottled in 2008. Two casks: Hogshead & Cream Sherry Butt
Colour: Dark red-copper.
Nose: Rich, Sherried, sweet, raspberries, some almond.
Palate: Leather, oak, spice, big spice. A little sweetness - bubblegum, wine gums, and some apricots.
Finish: Drying and tannic. After a fantastic nose and palate, the finish lets it down slightly...but only slightly.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Despite the slight disappointment on the finish, still a fantastic whisky.

Nikka Single Cask Malt Whisky (Miyagikyo) 1987 (62% ABV, 17yo, Bottle #4, Cask #89698, Sendai, Japan, no longer available)
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Distilled in November 1987, bottled in August 2005.
Colour: Intensely dark
Nose: Plums and port.
Palate: Lots of juicy plum notes. Lets you know it's packing 62% ABV, but that's not to say it's harsh. Hot yes, but not harsh. Water really brings out sweet toffee notes.
Finish: Drying, tannic, medium length. Lots of oak. Water lengthens the finish (unsurprising given the ABV).
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Better with a few drops of water.

Yamazaki Mizunara 2014 (48% ABV, NAS, 1 of 1,600 bottles, Yamazaki, Japan, ¥25,000)

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Colour: Bright orange
Nose: Spiced, chilli, vanilla and coconut. Lots of coconut (a feature of all Mizunara-matured whiskies we nosed during the trip).
Palate: Spicy, possibly one of the spiciest whiskies I've tried. Peppers and chilli.
Finish: Cayenne pepper, turning into pure coconut. Very long.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. I probably wouldn't drop the asking price on a bottle (though even if I wanted to, I'm sure all 1,600 are now spoken for, but an enjoyable and very unusual whisky nonetheless).

Ichiro's Malt (Chichibu) Zoetrope Banzai 8th anniversary bottling (62% ABV, 4yo, bottle #25 of 79, cask #609, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled Nov in 2009, bottled in June 2014 to celebrate the bar's 8th anniversary.
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Play dough (it's clearly young) but very smooth. Pineapple too.
Palate: Meaty. Some plastic, crayons. But rich tropical fruits too. Very, very good.
Finish: The only disappointing part. Medium length, tannic and slightly sour.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Bloody good whisky, let down only slightly by a finish that reminds you that this is still very young, and has some less than favourable notes that haven't quite left it yet.

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) Shot Bar Zoetrope 3rd anniversary bottling (60.7% ABV, 9yo, bottle #158 of 263, cask #9800, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled in 2000, the last year of Hanyu's production. Partially matured in a rum cask and bottled in 2009 to celebrate Zoetrope's 3rd anniversary (how many bars can say they have two whiskies bottled specifically for them? Zoetrope actually have 3...)
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Bacon. Bacon. Some more bacon, and then, for a change, bacon. So much bacon. A few drops of water brought about some smoke too. Smoky bacon. Yes please!
Palate: Intense bacon-ness. Water brings about even more bacon, but also adds smoked BBQ flavours and dried fruits - apples and sultanas.
Finish: Long and hot. Some smoke, quite a bit of vanilla sweetness.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not my favourite of the night, but still a fantastic whisky (especially if you like bacon. Mmm, bacon...)

If you ever get the chance, visit this bar.

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #158: Blackadder "Raw Cask" Linkwood 1991 22yo

On the same day I tried the Old Pulteney 21 at Liquors Hasegawa in Tokyo, I also spotted this 22yo Linkwood which was too tempting not to try...

One thing I love about the "Raw Cask" series from Blackadder is the little bits of char (known in the Twitterverse as "chat", I believe) that floats around the bottle. There's no doubt that these come straight from the cask...

Blackadder "Raw Cask" 1991 Linkwood (58% ABV, 22yo, Speyside, Scotland, bottle 190 of 254)
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Colour: Light pale straw.

Nose: Earthy, herbal smoke, but at the same time sweet, boiled lollies.

Palate: Lots of caramel. Thick, rich, like a creme brûlée with cinnamon on top, condensed into a hard-boiled lolly.

Finish: Long and lingering, without any "heat", but with notes of burnt caramel.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. While I love my sherried whiskies, I also really appreciate a great ex-Bourbon cask whisky, and this definitely fits the bill. One of those who like their whiskies on the sweeter side, for sure.

Cheers,

Martin.