Chichibu - On The Way

A multivintage Chichibut consiting of 2008, 2009 and 2010 bourbon and japanese Mizunara oak casks. Bottled in 2013 and 9900 bottles of this Chichibu exist with an abv of 58.5% vol.

• Nose: Vanilla, sweet, cream caramel, oak, sandalwood, herbal spices, water adds more spices and pepper
• Mouth: Creamy, mild and plenty of spices
• Finish: Warm, very oily and creamy, a hint sharp

Comments: Excellent Chichibu with a very noticeable Mizunara profile. Maybe a tad young, the finish lacks a bit of body I'd say. Definitely needs some time in the glass to breath.

87 points

Yamazaki 1984

Here we go with tasting note number 100!
Aged in Japanese Mizunara, Spanish (sherry butt) and American oak casks and bottled at 48% vol.
This one is 25 years old and bottled in 2009 limited to 2500 bottles.

• Nose: Initially very subdued, needs 20~30 minutes to fully open up. Then you get some light sherry sweet tropical fruits like papaya and mango honey and light tobacco, sandalwood, generally quite rich and thick. Over time a mint note develops.
• Mouth: Oily with some sherry, fresh and fruity oak
• Finish: Long with different oaks, sugary sweet and honey, sherry, spices oranges and exotic fruits, with a few drops water a rich vanilla note develops

Comment: Excellent all around! Rich and fruity with superb nose and finish. Very harmonic and sweet with much to discover everywhere. Love it.

92 points

Yamazaki Mizunara - NAS (2013)

The 2013 version of the now annual special Suntory releases. This one has aged for an unknown time in Mizunara (Japanese oak) casks. Bottled at 48% vol.

• Nose: Exotic fruits - especially papaya!, vanilla, marzipan, sweet juicy oak and tobacco, some of the sandal wood. Water makes it a bit more harsh with tannins and resin
• Mouth: Oak, honey, some light sandalwood - water adds some tannins
• Finish: Warm and sweet with honey and some light sandalwood again. Water results in tannins and resin again with the feel of a pine forest

Comment: Quite excellent with a great nose and rich flavor. Water is rather detrimental in my opinion and primarily adds harshness. Maybe could have used some more time in the cask(s) and certainly on the expensive side for a NAS bottling...

87 points

Hanyu 1988 - 2007 - Cask 9501

Cheers to another Hanyu. This one was distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2007 at 55.6% vol cask strength by the Number One Drinks Company. The kicker for this one is that it was finished in a Japanese oak cask (Mizunara).

• Nose: Smooth oak, spices, slight smokieness, juicy tobacco, tropical timbers, after a while it gets very earthy (like wet flower earth), water makes the nose dryer/dustier
• Mouth: Oily, sweet oak, honey water, nectar
• Finish: Oaky, long and warm, some very light pepper/chili, vanilla and spices

Comment: This is some lovely sweet nectar with delicate wood notes. Works very well without water, but it doesn't harm either giving it a dry edge.

90 points

Yamazaki, The owner's cask LMdW, 1986 Mizunara Butt, 6G5029

A personal favorite here

This unique Yamazaki (山崎) was distilled in 1986 and bottled in 2006 (20 years old) as part of Suntroy's Owners Cask series for La Maison Du Whisky in France. As the previously reviewed SMWS 119.12 Yamazaki this has been aged in Japanese Mizunara (ミズナラ) oak which still is a bit of a rarity. You can read a bit more about Mizunara on Nonjatta.

Bottled at 60.0% vol. cask strength with 405 bottles. A bottle did initially cost around 150€ I believe. Worth noting is the beautiful golden-orange color.

• Nose: A lot of oriental spices, juicy sweet oak, sandalwood, a tiny bit oak in the background, thick and rich, with water a bit more oak and a tad pepper
• Mouth: Spiced syrup, light whiffs of Japanese curry rice, oak, some sweetness but generally more dry
• Finish: Very long, warm, spices, sweet oak, a bit flower nectar, soy sauce in the background but without saltiness 

Comments: Amazing! Very unique and loaded with flavors on different layers. A lot to discover everywhere and just a pleasure to drink. It's usually really hard to come by a whisky aged in mizunara oak, so if you get the chance to sample or buy it make sure to take that chance to experience something quite unique!

93 points

Quercus mongolica var. crispus aka Mizunara oak

Yamazaki SMWS 119.12 "Chewy and cheek sucking"

Here are my tasting notes for a Yamazaki (山崎) bottled from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). As far as I am aware the SMWS is the only independent bottler that bottles Yamazaki (and Hakushu for that matter).

So this is the 119.12 "Chewy and cheek sucking" bottling, aged for 16 years, bottled and released in 2010, matured in Japanese mizunara oak. Mizunara (ミズナラ) oak has some interesting influences on the whisky and you can read more in this nice article on Nonjatta.

262 bottles, non coloured, non chill filtered, at cask strength with 54% vol.

• Nose: Sweet, spices, honey with curry, dry oak without tannins, sandalwood, cedar wood, adzuki (sweet Japanese red bean paste), after some breathing it gets a bit more peppery with more curry and less honey. Water brings out a tad menthol.
• Mouth: Thick and oily, rich and spicy, a tad cinnamon
• Finish: Curry again, sweet'ish, spicy, sandalwood, incense stick / Japanese temples, at the very end again  a tad menthol

Comments: Very unique nose and overall profile. The spicy curry is great and the sandalwood and cedar wood is very present but without any tannins. Enjoying this one quite a bit and it's unlike anything else I tasted so far.

89 points

Mizunara Oak (quercus mongolica)

Ichiro's Malt - MWR

MWR - that's Mizunara Wood Reserve. A blend by Ichiro Akuto from undisclosed distilleries (most likely Hanyu and Chichibu)  and finished in a Mizunara (Japanese oak) cask.

Bottled at 46% vol.

• Nose: Old wood, rum raisin chocolate
• Mouth: Light, oak, malt sweetness
• Finish: Short, dry, a bit oak

Comments: Nice, light and pleasant. But where is the Mizunara influence?  With mizunara oak I'd expect a richer and spicier whisky. Also the price tag is too high on this one in my opinion, at least here in Europe.

79 points

(2011)