2 bottles of Single Malt Japanese Whiskys - Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve and Hakashu 12 year old

2 Single Malt Japanese Whiskys - Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve and Hakashu, 12 year old

Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve

From the revered house of Yamazaki, comes the Distillers Reserve Single Malt Whisky. Reverberating with centuries of Japanese distilling heritage, it’s a liquid symphony waiting to be explored.

Eloquent expressions of red berries, tropical fruits, and a hint of Mizunara oak greet the senses. As the journey unfolds, discover layers of white peach, coconut, and a dash of cinnamon. The endnote is pure elegance, a harmonious blend of silky chocolate and whispers of smoky incense.

A fresh and fruity whisky from Yamazaki, full of red fruit and a touch of sherry cask. It's also got some mizunara (Japanese oak) matured whisky in the mix, which comes through as a complex spicy and almost incense-like note. A well put together and deep dram.

• Nose - The wine cask seems to dominate the nose here with strawberries and red fruit taking centre stage. However, sitting quietly in the background is the incense from the mizunara, a hint of dried fruit from the sherry cask and a touch of coconut.

• Palate - An abundance of red fruit again, with raspberries, strawberries and even redcurrants coming through, although there’s more dimensions to this than the first wine cask sample that we tried. White peach, a hint of wood and spice, back-up notes of red cherries and candied fruits all come into play here as well.

• Finish - Relatively long finish with vanilla and sweet spice dancing around the tongue.

• Comments - This seriously develops and expands on the three previous samples. It’s really interesting to see how characters from each sample resonate onto this whisky but with so much more character coming into the final product.

Hakashu 12 Year Old

A green and crunchy entry in the Hakushu Range, combining whisky of a wide variety of ages, from across the range of casks used by the distillery to create a gently smoky dram, packed with fruity flavour.

Golden amber color. Aromas and flavors of honeyed raisin toast and spicy nougat with a satiny, fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body and a long, mouthwatering peppery spice and mineral accented finish. An appetizing whisky.

• Nose - Quite herbaceous. Green fruit, mint, cucumber, pine, grassy, spearmint. Just loads of green fruit in this one.

• Palate - Loads o f green things coming out of here! Mint, cucumber, green fruit, grapefruit and just a touch of smoke at the back. Dave Broom got yuzu…I’ve never heard of yuzu….

• Finish - Light, delicate, refreshing and some subtle smoke.

• Comments - This is so easy to drink. It’s fresh, easy going (almost too easy) and just divine. I wrote delicious at the top and circled it! That’s a big thumb up in my world.

• Name : Roland Shen