Whisky : Yamazaki 12 Year

Country/Region : Japan/Suntory Yamazaki Distillery

ABV : 43%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon, Sherry, Mizunara Oak

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Wedding Preview

Nose : Aroma of buttery and sweet pineapple short bread.  There is slight smoke and iodine in the glass, not a peaty aroma, but more like a baking smoke.  Reminds me a bit of freshly baked cinnamon rolls that have been in the oven just a minute too long.

Palate : Sweet candied tropical fruits— maybe even saltwater taffy.  There is a nice creaminess to the body, very similar to coconut cream (the thick white top of a can of coconut milk).  There are some faint notes of ponzu sauce, vanilla, and bakery spices that develop as the palate gets used to, and begins to ignore, the fruity sweetness.

Finish : Faded quickly leaving just a bit of creamy coconut vanilla.

Score : 5

Whisky : Hakushu 12

Country/Region : Japan/Suntory Hakushu Distillery

ABV : 43%

Cask : Ex-bourbon, Oloroso Sherry

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Wedding Preview

Nose : Herbal smoke comes first out of the glass followed by some baking apple.  There is rosemary and almost a bit of pork roasting on a spit.  It is at turns savory and then sweet, as if that pork has been basted with apple juice while it roasts.

Palate : Crème brûlée, or a well baked apple pie lead the way with their mix of sweet and caramelizing smoke.  There some tropical fruit, a bit of pickle, and the odd tastelessness of celery which came through as the dram aired out.

Finish : Another pretty quick finish, not a whole lot of legs behind a faint bit of apple pie coming fresh out of the oven.

Score : 4

Whisky : Hibiki Harmony

Country/Region : Japan/Blend

ABV : 43%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon, Sherry, Mizunara Oak

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Wedding Preview

Nose : The fruity and astringent qualities of champagne or sparkling white wine jump out first.  There is a bit of creaminess to the nose— but more like a fruit yogurt than actual thick cream.

Palate : Pinepple, orange, guava, passionfruit— lots of tropical fruits jump out.  There is a sweetness to it that reminds me a lot of honey roasted carrots.  A helping of limey citrus rounds out the dram.

Finish : Light and breezy finish with a bit of ginger sweet and heat— maybe a touch of pickled turnip.

Score : 4

Notes : Each of these three drams were well balanced, but generally sweeter and less savory than I prefer. They were easy drinkers, but the mouthfeel was a little bit thin.

I am probably not the biggest fan of Japanese whiskies— they are, by and large, quality delightful drams, but with a few exceptions, Nikka from the Barrel comes to mind, I generally find the palate a bit too light and fleeting.  I do not find myself inherently pulled towards ‘balanced’ whiskies.  My wife’s preference for bold and brash— often thick smokey and peaty high alcohol bombs— has definitely altered my own preferences as I have become accustomed to intense salty, funky, peat.

I have also been a bit hesitant to get too into Japanese whiskies as the barrier to entry has become so great. Local secondary pricing so steep and availability so tight that even these entry level age statements are hard to justify buying for all but the greatest fan with Yamazaki ranging from $130-150 and Hakushu $110-130. Hibiki Harmony is a bit different; it is more widely available and easy to come by, but is still priced well above what I personally think it is worth— especially when compared to scotches in the same range. When Costco stocks Harmony it sells for a decent $50, other retails list it for $80 if not significantly higher.

So what to buy instead?  Yamazaki 12 reminded me a lot of Arran 14, though less intense and maybe a bit more balanced.  The Hakushu 12 I think could be replaced by Green Spot or Redbreast 12— though neither of those are peated, I really did not get any of the hint of peat that goes into Hakushu.  I do think the pot still spices of those Irish whiskies provide a pretty good approximation of Hakushu.  And instead of Hibiki Harmony, I would buy anything else— really though, considering how cheap Suntory’s Toki is, I would call that a cheap replacement that does not sacrifice much quality.  In the case of Harmony and Toki, while they are palatable to drink straight, they are certainly more virtuous in a highball.