To close out an extended Japan-focused week I have a duo of blends created by the house of Suntory to mark the 50th and 60th anniversaries of Kotobuki Seihan, a Japanese printing company. Talk about a birthday present!  Without any further delay, on to the reviews.

Whisky Details: Suntory Blended Whisky for the 60th Anniversary of Kotobuki Seihan, 43%

Nose: Soft and mellow, dried vegetation, oak and wispy smoke, leather, orchard fruit, butterscotch, old papers, eucalyptus and camphor.

Palate: Light-bodied, butterscotch, malty sugars, honey, pepper, creamy at times, old books, autumn vegetation, dried leaves, cinnamon tea.

Finish: Long and mellow with orchard fruits, pudding, and autumn.

Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Tweed Jackets and Secret Puddings in the Library

Narrative & Notes: Soft and mellow with dried Autumn vegetation, cords of firewood, and wispy hints of chimney smoke and burning piles of leaves.  Worn leather and dried pine needles rounded out the softer elements, with buttery apples and butterscotch pudding offering a sweet companion to old library books lost among hints of camphor and eucalyptus. Light-bodied, the whisky was gentle and well-rounded on the palate with butterscotch and malty graham crackers arriving alongside a kiss of honey, cinnamon, and black pepper. More creamy butterscotch pudding— more along the lines of a not-too-sweet set pudding you can get with old fashioned Taiwanese shaved ice places— developed with old library books, autumn vegetation, and dried leaves.  A touch peppery toward the end with some cinnamon tea, the finish was nice and long with mellow notions of apples, pudding, and autumn.

If every printing company commissioned bottles like this for their anniversary, I would probably know the names of a lot more of them.  This was released back in 2006, or, I assume it was as a 50 Year Anniversary bottle gave 1996 as the date. I suspect, as this appeared right before the Japanese whisky craze really began, that it included a healthy proportion of well-aged malts and grains from Suntory’s Japanese whisky stable— or possibly even further afield.

Overall, beautiful example of a mellow and easy drinking blend.  The components were harmonious and well-balanced with good depth, I could see this bottle disappearing very quickly.

Whisky Details: Suntory Blended Malt for the 50th Anniversary of Kotobuki Seihan (1946-1996), 50%

Nose: Rich stone fruits and oak, earthy with autumn vegetation, sandalwood and citrus, pastry cream and coconut.

Palate: Medium-bodied, stone fruits, citrus, cinnamon, pepper, coconut cream, caramel, creme brûlée, wood and dried vegetation with wispy smoke.

Finish: Medium to long with dried vegetation, caramel, stone fruits, and pepper.

Score: 7 (83)

Mental Image: Crème Brûlée under the Aurora Borealis

Narrative & Notes: Rich and dignified with stately stone fruits and caramelized custard alongside fallen logs, earthy dried mushrooms, and fallen autumn leaves. Pastry cream with hints of desiccated coconut flakes danced among wispy burning incense and mellow aromatic woods— hints of sandalwood and citrusy Hallabong. Medium-bodied and balanced on the palate with stone fruits and citrus rinds poached with hints of cinnamon and peppercorns. Creamy caramelized sugars and coconut lingered further in setting the stage for visions of poaches fruits with caramel over creme brûlée or coconut pudding.  Lacquered wood and dried vegetation lingered toward the end with hints of wispy smoke.  The finish was medium to long with dried vegetation, creamy caramel, stone fruit, and a peppery kiss.

This was bottled at a higher proof than the 60th anniversary bottle, and the neck tag alludes to this being a blended malt— a term that in 1996 could have meant a blending of various malts from distilleries owned by Suntory, or, a vatting of malts at Yamazaki, which the tag identifies as the location where the blend was created.

Yet, I wondered if the tag was misleading or misstated. I did not pick up many grain notes on the 60th anniversary blend, though, when I looked for other reviews, I did notice that the fine folks at WhiskyFun called attention to that quality— and that was likely why I picked up so much butterscotch pudding.  Oddly, I found more of what I would call old grain whisky notes on this earlier blend which is why I wondered whether it really was a blend of just “fine malts.” Had I tried this blind, I could have easily been convinced that it was actually a well-aged single grain whisky— or malt off a column or coffey still perhaps?

Overall, a delicious and hearty blend— something different from the masters at Suntory.  Though it was richer and carried a thicker mouthfeel, I preferred the mellow balance of the 60th Anniversary bottle by a hair.