Whisky : Hanyu 18 Year (Whisky Live Japan 10th Anniversary Edition)

Country/Region : Japan

ABV : 57.3%

Cask : Mizunara Oak

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ LMDW Singapore

Nose : Opens with the smell of tropical fruit, especially pineapple. Gradually some butterscotch begins to emerge, blending with the fruit and creating an aroma like a nice buttery short bread or pineapple cake.

Palate : Gushing fruit of pineapple and pear with a bit of a puckering sour fruit astringency. It takes on a bit of salty-sweetness like sweet shoyu— almost like a fine fruity glaze or marinade with shoyu, honey, and sesame coming through the fruit.

Finish : Long lingering sweetness.

Score : 8

Mental Image : A giant buttery pineapple shortbread cake— and I am not sharing with anyone.

Notes : This dram was a pleasant surprise. I was not originally planning to sample any Japanese whisky that night; too pricey and there was just so much else I was interested in. However, after chatting with the bartender about whisky, he grabbed this one off the shelf saying that he thought I might be surprised by this bottle. He was not wrong. I was taken right away by the attractive tropical fruit notes and the absence of any overpowering sweetness or green apple notes. It may have been the higher abv, which was completely unnoticeable otherwise, that really concentrated the tropical flavor with a juicy mouthfeel. This was easily my favorite Japanese whisky and what a shame since its ridiculously expensive to pick up; both the old Hanyu and the newer Ichiro/Chichibu bottles. It was a unicorn bottle and one I wish I had lingered over just a little bit more knowing what I know now.