An interesting and elegant selection of Suntory Vintage Malt still remains at Shinan, Motomachi, Kobe. Recently, at the mum and pop like store, a few bottles have been replaced, allowing for one of the biggest Vintage Malt selections available under the one roof in Kobe. This impressive range gives patrons the opportunity to choose from a smorgasbord of Hakushu and Yamazaki expressions; starting from the famed 1979 Yamazaki bottling all the way through to the 1993 Hakushu vintage bottling. For the majority of early vintages, it appears there is only one bottle per year currently available that I can tell of. For those interested, and as a reference, contact me for the prices, or better still make a day of it and head into the conveniently located store and have a browse.
Shinan’s Current Vintage Malt Selection
1979-Yamazaki
1981-Hakushu
1982-Hakushu
1983-Yamazki
1985-Hakushu
1987-Hakushu
1988-Hakushu
1989-Hakushu
1990-Hakushu
1991-Yamazaki
1992-Yamazaki
1993-Hakushu
Address
1-13-11 Motomachi,
Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi
650-0022
Phone
078 331 3503
Why these treasures have so far remained untouched beats me. Perhaps customers are distracted by the gorgeous selection of both Japanese and Scotch whiskies in the store!
ReplyDeleteThat is true. As I mentioned, in the last week the shop has added at leat four expressions to their selection, so it's an indication they have sold a few bottles, but mostly have been untouched. It really is a treasure trove.
DeleteSorry, not "leat", but "least", oops!
DeleteCan't speak for others, but for me I get analysis paralysis with that many bottles to choose from. I'd also be taking a decent financial gamble by randomly picking a bottle without knowing much about it. It can be hit or miss for your personal tastes when it comes to the different vintages.
DeleteChris, I believe you maybe right with some of the vintage malts being a hit and miss. In my opinion the early to mid eighties bottlings are sensational, but where one would certainly need to do there research is with bottlings from the seventies, in terms of true quality/value for the money. Suprisingly enough bottlings from the ninties are reasonably cheap, but this could be a good indication of their performance/quality, and not just the vintage (year).
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