Another weekend and another blind whiskey tasting.
I have always had a soft place in my heart for japanese whiskey.
To be honest its not just whiskey that inspires me from Japan, I also have a deep infinity for the culture as a whole. From music, to food, art and philosophy. I find the older I get the more influence and inspiration pulls me to the depth of japans rich culture and values. As far as whiskey goes I found Japans offerings to be a little more elegant and soft handed than its scotch counterparts. They came across softer and more nuanced than the few scotches I had tried and honestly to this day I still feel like that statement rings true, though I have started to grow a softer spot for some choice scotch producers as well, and the value that was once found in the Japanese sector of whiskey is long gone!
After spending a couple recent evenings diving into a few pours accompanied by a book "Whisky Rising" by Stefan Van Eycken, lovingly gifted to me by my wonderful and supportive wife! I was inspired to taste a few blindly and kind of picked a few from my Japan shelf that I thought were on the lighter side of offerings for a fair comparison.
the LINEUP
Hatozaki Small Batch 12yr Umeshu Cask
Hibiki Japanese Harmony
Kaiyo Whisky
As you can see in the glass they all have a similar color and are on the lighter side of the spectrum. Stay tuned for a part two where I will include those on the darker side.
Back to the task at hand...
It was really interesting going back and forth with these selections. One glass evoked a scotch personality, while the other two leaned more on the sweeter toastier side of the spectrum. Honestly, even knowing I have sipped all these on their own and thoroughly enjoyed them. Tasting them void of my preconceived notions based on price and packaging and just analyzing and enjoying them side by side really opened up my senses to understand their complexity! Hence the reason I enjoy tasting things "blind"!
FINAL RESULTS
WINNER ** KAIYO WHISKY ** WINNER (90pts)
(Light Straw, Earthy Truffle, Sawdust, Pecan, Unified Fruit & Burnt Sugar Harmony, Vanilla Custard, Pralines, Baked Apple, Sage Brush, Smoked Maple, Focused Rich Barrel Notes with a Long Herbaceous Forest note that lingers)
HATOZAKI 12yr SMALL BATCH UMESHU CASK (88pts)
(Toasted Barley, Grilled Pear, Phenolic Citrus Oils, Plumy, Old Wood, Warm Spice, Soft Grain Backdrop, Buckwheat Honey, Jasmine Tea, Scotchesque, Great Movement on the Palate, Touch of Heat, Tannic Fruit Skin Finish, Floral Balance)
HIBIKI JAPANESE HARMONY (87pts)
(Burnt Sugar, Toasted Coconut, Pear, Hay, Bread Pudding, Buttery Shortbread, Vanilla, Almond Blossoms, Light Stonefruit, Touch Thin but Delicious)
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