Whisky type: Japanese blended malt (vatted/pure malt) - ABV: 46% - Bottled by: Akuto Ichiro
Nose: Arguably complex, textbook aromas. Vanilla and brandy cooking essence. Slight flat cola note. Generous amounts of sweet spice: cloves, cinnamon and thyme in the background. Possess minimal earthy tones, with unmistakable floral tinges. Citrus peel is accentuated with a few drops of water.
Taste: Delicious. An avalanche of initial spice: pickled white ginger, followed by yet again citrus delivery. The addition of water brings out a mixture of brown sugar mixed with butter. A rich floral mouthfeel is also unleashed.
Finish: Satisfying. The sweet spice battles with floral qualities, and sugary butter for a moderate, clean finish.
Comment: Others have detected subtle smoke in both the nose and taste. It is slightly present, but I struggled to find it (if any at all) and associate it with something. This is a well-crafted blend of single malts from selected Japanese distilleries, a rarity, blended and bottled by Ichiro-san. I will be making it my mission to try and hunt down another bottle of this seemingly hard to find whisky. The majority of on-line websites (well, the sites I often check) have sold out long ago, since it’s a discontinued bottling. A release of 6,000 bottles was released with half going to the international market. This was pleasant and smooth enough on a warm evening, with a breeze of course.
Reviewed by Clint A
I love this whisky. Not heavy but very satisfying and way to easy to drink. I'm one who gets lovely subtle wisps of smoke. Need to get another to put away.
ReplyDeleteIt is a whisky to love. I've just had another dram tonight, I've noticed since my last tasting, as I've gone through the bottle, smoke is becoming present, but for me, it's only distinguishable in the mouthfeel. Like a smoked water cracker if such a thing exists. Light, smoky minerals perhaps? As I mentioned, I'll also be trying to track a bottle down to "put away".
ReplyDeleteI remember my first bottle of Yoichi 15 and smoke had been mentioned by others. I've always had that smoke in Yoichi 12 but did not find it in the 15 till the last 25% of the bottle after which time it became very obvious and concentrated.
ReplyDelete