Nikka Taketsuru 17 Year Old

At risk of being considered heterodox, I have a pronounced preference for Japanese whiskies over their Scottish cousins. I admit this here not merely to disqualify myself from reviewing non-American whiskies, but to state my bias openly. The Japanese have a genius for imitation that transcends the derivative into a mystical realm of inspired mimesis. Their distillers have somehow managed to take the traditions of Scotland and create something that, to my virginal Scotch palate, out-Scotches Scotch. I would go so far as to opine they have devised a way to access the original platonic idea of whisky and approximate it for our mortal senses. The grand body, the immense and wafting smoke of Scotch meets a delicacy and precision that effortlessly distills the pride of Japan’s awe-inspiring civilization into a single bottle. And that bottle is the Nikka “Taketsuru” 17 year pure malt. Pure alchemy, rather. How can anyone extract from a foul of grainy sludge such a supernal draught? You might as well make an earth out of an accretion disc from around the moon. The Taketsuru is a light amber and has a thick nose that presents strata of char and smoke. Native Americans could have used this for their smoke signals as its deliciously reeking nose can be smelled from miles away. Amid these wafting surges is a tantalizing whiff of something sweet and seductive, like the sweetness of a good cigar. Fine consistency with some heat but the nice sort of heat that a curry furnishes. Where to begin with flavors? Smoke, smoked meat, blueberries, malt, and a bit of charred leather, grilled eggplant, and apricots. Rosewater and pepper emerge in subsequent sips. This is a beastly whisky. "Multeity in unity" like Coleridge's beauty.

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