Japanese Whisky reviews

The second whisky of our evening was this award-winning blend (Best Japanese Blend, No Age Statement at the 2011 World Whiskies Awards). Whereas the bottle of Tsuru 17 was a gorgeous decanter, this one…

Last night, my good friend Igor Kossov hosted a Nikka whisky tasting for a couple of us, including the guys who run scotchblog.ca. There were six whiskies on offer - and I was able to bring samples back…

Nikka Black Special is a Coffey grain whiskey and it has been in the market since 1965. For me it was an everyday easily drinkable dram. That's why I decided to call it a Rush Hour whiskey. And just like…

Unlike the Hakushu, Suntory Hibiki was not part of the movie Lost In Translation. After I tasted the Hibiki 12 year old, nothing needed to be translated for me anyway. But it has similarities with the…

Nose: Heavy rich maple candy, vanilla, dates.Palette: Thinner than I've heard in reviews. Not nearly as mouth coating as the Tobermory 15. Quite thin by comparison and also quite rudimentary, even though…

Pure Malt is nowadays called blended malt, as you are most likely aware. This whisky is thus composed of single malts from the Nikka stable (as Japanese distillers do not swap whiskies). It was named…

Yamazaki is the first distillery in Japan, founded by Shinjiro Torri, in collaboration with his protégé Masetaka Taketsuru (who would later go hiw own way with Yoichi and Miyagikyo). This Yamazaki 18…