Hokuto 12-Year-Old Pure Malt

Distillery: Hakushu

Whisky type: Pure Malt

ABV: 40%

Volume: 660ml

Nose: Whipped cream, fried pineapple, fresh banana fritters, dusty wood chips, integrated subtle sweet smoke, Allen’s fruit tingles: lemon and orange, sweet oak, salt rock, and strangely but pleasant spicy tomato juice.

 

Taste: Lush. Smooth and silky with gorgeous oak, a dash of concentrated lime juice, and a drop of pineapple juice from a can. The whipped cream makes itself present before spiced mixed nuts roll into the equation. The malt becomes very creamy the longer it sits.

 

Finish: Dry, tame, and oaky with a medium length.

 

Comment: This is an extremely mouthwatering whisky. The Hokuto 12-year-old was released on the market in 2004 and ceased production late 2009 or early 2010 as far as I know. Although a mass marketed line-up of Suntory at the time, it is now ever so scarce due to its popularity, and effectively cheap price for excellent quality. It took me at least 6 months to find my bottle, and I was reluctant to open it, but glad I did. This Pure Malt ticks all the right boxes, it offers something different to Suntory’s core Yamazaki and Hakushu single malts. I’m a fan, and will be on the hunt for another bottle…I better make it 2 bottles.





Reviewed by Clint A

White Oak Akashi No-Age-Statement Single Malt 46%abv

Nose: A youthful edge. Oak, concrete powder mix, light yeastiness with a presence of smoke: firework smoke to be precise. Green nectarines plus qualities I can smell in the Akashi 5-year-old single malt: burnt tyre rubber and slightly metallic. Water brings out the sweetness of honey and the nectarine becomes riper. After 10 minutes a possible cherry coke aroma escapes the glass. You really do have to search for all the above though.

Taste: Interesting, however not as much going on compared with the nose. Certainly a spice explosion: ginger. Very oaky, and again that familiar burnt rubber (smoke) from a car burnout (which I must admit is growing on me). Red gum honey, bitter yeastiness, herbal: parsley, with water peat, tar, and aloe vera gel.

Finish: Medium to long on the spice and oak, warming, dry.

Comment: Slightly better than the 5-year-old in my opinion, however for what it is and what it provides the 500ml no-age-statement bottling at this price (buying direct from the distillery will set you back 2,620 yen) is possibly a bit pricey. For a 700ml bottle it could be justifiable but in an honest opinion I wouldn’t want any more than I already have. Nevertheless, I’m glad I purchased it for the experience; it certainly is approachable and has potential to grow on you. Water is recommended for the few pleasantries. As far as I know my review is the first post in English to hit the Internet, but if any readers have tried this Whiskies R Us encourages you to post your tasting notes, I would personally like to hear other peoples description of the NAS. 4,000 bottles was produced for the first release of this no-age-statement single malt for this year (end of August 2012).  

Reviewed by Clint A

Akashi NAS Hits Pardon

For those interested in White Oak’s new Akashi no-age-statement single malt, and live in Kobe Nishi-ku, will be pleased to know that the liquor store Pardon now have the malt in stock. The non-chill filtered malt (ABV 46%), with no added colouring retails at 2,480 yen. The guys at the store said they are planning to get in cartons for the NAS that will sport the label across the box (the cartons behind the bottles in the photo are for the Akashi blend).



Finding Hokuto

Route 43 is a major road and slower alternative (below the Hanshin express highway) that connects Kobe to Osaka, and one that I have traveled on many occasions. On my recent endeavor I rode from Nada all the way to Amagasaki, and for the few that know the trek will appreciate the distance. Amagasaki was my destination, I had heard of ancient arcades that snake off in all directions and heard promise of some treasure troves. With Amagasaki locked in I decided not consume time and dart around the back streets on the way up, especially as I thought I had roamed around the majority of the streets already. But this was not the case; I was attracted to a side street off the main road that I seemed to have missed in the past. This side street led me to Hanshin Fukae station in Higashinada. Being the main access road directly to the station there was nothing; however, it was all the other side streets off this road where my luck had changed. I would have missed the liquor shop Emiya completely if it wasn't for its large Kirin beer sign hanging on the shops wall, shaped in the iconic beer can. Quite a small shop with the usual line-up I often encounter: old bottlings of Suntory’s Royal, Reserve, and Imperial, green label Yamazaki bottles, and ancient square bottles of Super Nikka. On the top shelf again the usual suspects: Hibiki, more Yamazaki and then bang! There it was. It took me a few seconds to register what it was only because I was amazed at actually coming across it...finally.
 
Suntory's Hokuto 12-year-old, a Pure Malt with an ABV of 40% was one of Suntory's heavily marketed official bottlings when it was released in 2004, before it sadly ceased production around 2009/2010. The brand "Hokuto" is a city with remarkable waters, it is here, in Hakushu-cho, Yamanishi prefecture, that the Hakushu distillery is located in the forest, surrounded by the Southern Alps, and amongst natural mineral water supplies. This water from the surrounding nature is what gives the quality and characteristics to the Hokuto 12-year-old and other Hakushu expressions. The black label Hokuto 12-year-old, although a standard bottling from Suntory's core range at the time, has become ever so scarce and hard to find. Some of the major Internet sites in Japan have sold out of this expression long ago and it appears extremely difficult to pick this up in the conventional way of hunting shops. It has taken me 6 months to finally come across a bottle, long enough to think I should keep it for a rainy day...but I thought what if that rainy day never comes? I gave it a few days then cracked it with a beaming smile. Keep your eyes out for the review that is coming soon.





Suntory White Super Clean 37%abv

Year of release: 2000 (new version of the original White Blend)

Nose: Varnish, cheap nail polish remover, a hint of non ripened white peach, very grainy, slightly dusty, waxed floors, and super glue. After 15 minutes left in the glass a reasonably pleasant citrus aroma becomes present.
 
Taste: Given that fact the nose has industrial qualities the mouth feel is quite smooth. However, there is not a lot happening on the palate besides a mineral taste, grain, cabbage water with a pinch of white pepper followed by Scotch tape and envelope glue.
 
Finish: A hint of white pepper, then Scotch tape before a very short ending of again envelope glue.
 
Comment: A mixer indeed. Although the above does not sound that pleasant this blend isn't that bad when used in a homemade highball. I presume the representation of "Super Clean" comes from the low ABV. This bottling of the new version uses the familiar shapped bottles used in the Owner's Cask series.

Reviewed by Clint A

1981 Vintage Kioke Shikomi

Akashi city, Hyogo prefecture, can quite rightly be labeled as the Mecca for mom and pop liquor stores. The city thankfully has been untouched by new development; therefore it retains its heritage and unique atmosphere of yesteryear. Strolling down the rustic arcades send you back in time, nothing has changed. Signs, building architecture, décor, and shop fronts have the same appearance as they did numerous years ago and most likely from an era way before my time. On the way home from my recent trip to the White Oak distillery I decided on the spare of the moment to get off at the station and have a look around. I used to stroll around the nostalgic arcades of Akashi many moons ago, at a time when Japanese whisky was unfortunately unknown to me. Now, however, is a completely different story, and something inside, a force perhaps, was telling me some treasure troves were waiting to be found. Most of the mom and pop liquor stores do not easily stand out, so if you are in the area you will need to roam around with some perseverance, and stick to many back streets (opposite the bus terminal and heading towards the sea).

It was in this area, at the tiny liquor store named Mikuni, I found a reasonable gem: Suntory’s 1981 vintage Kioke Shikomi (木桶仕込). The label and various other sources suggests this is a Pure Malt, a vatting of Yamazaki and Hakushu single malts, and bottled at Yamanishi, implying a high percentage of Hakushu used in this bottling. The distilling techniques of this whisky used the “direct fire” method, along with the innovative bamboo charcoal filtration, and a traditional fermentation process using wooden tubs. It has been suggested that both the 81 and 91 vintage ceased production in 1999/2000. I picked up this bottle for a reasonable price, in fact the price I accumulated the 81 vintage was at the same price of the 91 vintage when it made its debut. Many people have suggested that this 81 Kioke Shiomi posses similar qualities to the 12-year-old Hakushu single malt. I’m certainly looking forward to finding out.

White Oak Update

We've learned of White Oak's new no-age-statement that will hit the shelves soon, in fact at the end of the month, so that technically gives us a few days to wait. This new edition to White Oak's portfolio will sadly replace the Akashi 5-year-old single malt and become the distillery's flagship malt from here on. Although sad to see the 5-year-old go, perhaps it could be a significant turning point for the distillery?

According to the distillery the NAS will most likely make its debut around Kansai first, and will be spread out amongst smaller retailers before hitting the big department stores. The Akashi NAS single malt appears to be made up of at least 3 main malts that include the vatting of Spanish sherry oak, American oak, and Bourbon oak casks, compromised of multiple ages from young to slightly matured malt. The cost will be 2,500 yen (excluding tax) and bottled at the ABV of 46%. This year, the first bottling run will see a release of 4,000 bottles, followed by subsequent release year after year.

This leaves White Oak with 5 brands to their line-up: the aforementioned NAS, Akashi blend, White Oak Gold house blend, White Oak red house blend, and the recently introduced 14-year-old Akashi single malt. Excluded from their existing line-up are the 5, 8, and 12-year-olds as production has ceased and stock sold out. That and there really is not enough stock to go around (Akashi 8-year-old had an outrun of 4,500 bottles while the 12-year-old's outrun was 2,000 bottles). In addition, since August last year, the distillery also stopped producing their favoured blend: Crown.

However, the line-up of the 5 brands will at some stage, and in the very near future, decrease to 4. The 14-year-old (although limited is still available at the distillery direct and online), just like the 8 and 12-year-olds was produced with a limited outrun. The first batch of 400 bottles, which appears to have never left domestic shores, and for obvious reasons, is comprised of twelve and a half year old malt from Spanish sherry oak, and finished in French white wine oak casks for the remaining period of one and a half years. There will be a second batch release (late November/early December) that will be equally welcomed, this outrun is speculated to double that of the first batch and will be a little bit more complex in terms of the finish: twelve and a half years in Spanish sherry oak, one and a half years spent in American oak, while the remaining life of half a year is in French white wine oak casks. So in doing the math it's easy to see that White Oak's oldest bottling will not be around in the future once both batches are sold out.

The distillery is doing some great things though for the industry, perhaps we will see some other expressions introduced in the future and witness White Oak becoming that little bit larger than it is now. I cannot wait.

Photo courtesy of Eigashima - White Oak