Despite the typhoon that tore through Kansai
yesterday (September 30) the annual Whisky History event soared on in Osaka
Despite the variety of independent bottlings my
prime focus of the day was naturally Japanese whisky. The same players were
there as the Osaka Whisky Festival 2012, and once again sadly without the
presence of the White Oak Distillery. Although not physically present
Akuto-san's Venture Whisky booth was gleaming. I was a little disappointed in
terms of selection, I was hoping to get amongst some surprise bottlings, but
they sell out so quick at events in Kanto therefore bottlings such as the Port
Pipe never reach events in Kansai. However, these thoughts vanished as soon as
I got amongst the malt on the pedestal: "Chichibu The Peated". Such lush
malt. I immediately had hairs standing up on the back of my neck once the
transition of thick smoked ham, herbs, and spices rolled over my tongue. There
is often a bit of hype surrounding Chichibu releases however; this one deserves
all that it gets. This is lovely artisan whisky at its best. I have this in my
possession but have yet to crack it so I was lucky to get a glimpse of what I
have install, great clarification in great surroundings.
While on the domestic front Nikka had a very minimal
stall and selection however, hidden behind the range of Taketsuru Pure Malt laid
the 2012 non-chill filtered 17-year-old Taketsuru that appeared to be given out
discretely. According to the reps only 600 bottles of this release was
allocated to Kansai (total outrun of 6,000 bottles, which isn't mentioned on
the label). Sophisticated and clean mouth feel but I favoured the robust nose
of the standard 17-year-old when comparing. Suntory of course were present and
equally had a small and simple set up with the emphasis on the 2012 Yamazaki
Cask Collection (seems like a few bottles were put aside for the event in
addition to the distillery's remaining stock). Unfortunately not a lot to say
here as I tried the Cask expressions the other day while at Yamazaki, and there
was no standard bottlings over the 12-year-old mark to be seen.
Familiar faces from the Mars Distillery were in
full force on the day. Interestingly enough they had the last dregs of the
Single Cask releases (Cognac
The usual suspects of the retail industry were also
present such as Sake Brutus, Sake Shop Sato, and naturally Shinanoya, which had
a lovely private bottling of a 30-year-old Highland Park
Good to hear that you liked The Peated. Have you tried the Newborn Heavily Peated?
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, I have tried the Newborn, equally great, however The Peated lays on the smoked meats heavily, much more heavily in my opinion. Have you got your self a few bottles?
ReplyDeleteI ordered a bottle of the Peated but unfortunately will not be able to pick it up until next summer (the next time I will be there). Still have some of the Newborn around so I'm hoping to give them a side by side tasting.
DeleteMmm,
ReplyDeleteinteresting Clint I would say the opposite. I think The Peated is actually rather delicate, yes the smoked meats are present but after my first 3 drams I'd say without quite the forcefulness of the Newborn. Anyway a few more drams and a side by side comparo as I have both opened before I come to any definitive conclusions on that front.
Hi Brian, good to see you have collected your bottles from the post office. That may be the case , but for me, on my first dram, on the day of the festival, it was definitely there, the smoked meats. I distinctively think it tasted like porky bits, the old school pub chips in Australia. When I dramned this it was from the halfway mark of the bottle, and after an assortment of other drams, could be a factor but not too significant. Anyway, agree, side-by-side comparison sounds good. I might open my bottle just to confirm what I tasted on the day. Would be very interesting if it was much more subtle.
DeleteNo denying the Pork bits Clint it's the first thing many people will notice, it's just, and I've got a dram poured right now, I find this quite a mild experience overall especially at 50.5%. It's certainly easy enough to drink.
ReplyDeleteA lovely dram indeed at the end of the day. This conversation certainly has got me wanting to give the Newborn another go again. It is great that comments generate further interest and reflection of other malts ;)
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