Whisky : Suntory Ao

Country/Region : Global Blend (Irish, Japanese, Canadian, American, Scottish)

ABV : 43%

Cask : Various

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Whisky Tasting Night

Nose : Faintly raisin or tangerine there is a bright fruity sweetness on the nose along with a bit of creamy (and sugary) buttercream frosting.  The sweetness of the nose is both juicy and sticky candy: white grape juice and grape jolly ranchers.

Palate : A medium bodied whisky, the Ao opens with sweet butterscotch and sparkling grape juice.  It is dry without being overly astringent with lots of mild oak spices.  Florals and candy come into the mix; lavender flavored candy anyone?

Finish : Mild and mellow with some creamy sugar and grassy sweetness

Score : 2

Mental Image : Walking into an old candy shop: smell of old oak and confectionary sugar.

Something Better : Johnnie Walker Oldest/Blue Label (similar fruit & sweet, less candy, more depth)

Something Similar : Johnnie Walker Platinum 18 Year (similar light & balanced profile)

Notes : Ao, one of Suntory’s latest product launches, leverages the monolithic size of the company to blend together whiskies from every corner of the globe (where Suntory at least partially owns a distillery).      According to Suntory, in Japanese Ao means blue and blue is the color of the water that connects each of these distilling regions to one another.  In Tahitian one meaning of the word Ao is world, so in my opinion the label makes more sense if we just pretend as though Suntory intended it to be read in Tahitian.

Ao did not make me go wow.  I would describe it as a more sophisticated version of Suntory’s Toki: easy and pleasant to drink, but probably best consumed in a highball.  Aside from Toki, I think the obvious point of comparison is Johnnie Walker.  The Ao drinks like some of the higher end Johnnie Walkers and fills a similar role as a versatile blend that can be used in mixed drinks, on the rocks, or straight up.  While I admire the blenders at Suntory and the flavor profiles they engineer and maintain— I think in terms of a versatile blend the Johnnie Walkers have the edge on Ao.  Though Suntory describes Ao as having subtle smokey notes, I could not locate them.  Savory notes are far more prevalent on the Johnnie Walkers and provide some well needed complexity to balance out the sweetness; I cannot imagine that Ao has much if any peated malt in the blend.

I could see this blend appealing to fans of Japanese whisky; it has a balanced mouthfeel and manages to walk the fine line of sweet vs cloying without falling off into sugarland.  Ao will also likely appeal to occasional drinkers who want something smooth and easy to drink straight up, or versatile enough to go in a mixed drink.  Its the same niche that Johnnie Walker also inhabits, so preference for Ao depends entirely on how much importance you put on the Suntory Brand, the kitsch of ‘whisky blended in Japan,’ or a preference for a sweeter blend with a bit more in common with bourbon than the faintly peated Johnnie Walkers.