Kirin Kunpu 2015

A blend bottled in 2015 from the Fuji Gotemba Kirin distillery. 40% vol.

• Nose: Glue, fruity acidity, strawberries, some alcoholic bite
• Mouth: Light flavor, fairly young impression
• Finish: Oak and cedar wood, oily and warm

Comments: On the nose it's unimpressive but the finish is pleasant.
80 points

Suntory Burai-Ha - Wild, but...

It's really named like that. A blended whisky released by Suntory in 1998. 40% vol. The bottle has a fancy metallic cover.

• Nose: Initial alcohol bite, green grass, raw green beans
• Mouth: Light...
• Finish: A bit of glue, cardboard, a tad of oak

Comments: Too young and unbalanced

74 points

Nikka Blend

A fairly readily available whiksy in Europe. Bottled at 40% and priced in the entry level range.

• Nose: Banana, fruit, freshly cut dried wood, honey
• Mouth: Warm, sweet, malt and oak
• Finish: Short, a few lingering tannins

Comment: A very nice drinking whisky that would probably benefit from a few more vol. But generally well rounded.

80 points.

Kirin Oak Master

Here my review for the Kirin Oak Master. From my understanding this is a bottom shelf whisky. The bottle comes in various sizes with 40% vol.

• Nose: Glue, cherries, tree sap, sharp oak on the nose, but not too dominant.
• Mouth: Fresh, light, malty, a fair bit of young alcohol.
• Finish: Oaky but light, slightly lingering alcohol

Comment: Lacks a bit of body, but pleasantly light with oak. finish is okay ish

76 points

J.B.A. Whisky Byron

A blend distilled in 1957 and bottled in 1967 - so it should be 10 years old.
JBA stand for Japanese Bartenders Association.
42% vol.

• Nose: Oak, moss, wet old tree bark, menthol, slightly smoky, green banana
• Mouth: Oily, sweet oak, 
• Finish: Oak, lingering, sticks to the tongue, mossy again, at the very end again green banana

Comment: Interesting for sure, maybe not the most balanced but for the price its a good deal. I like it

Points: 84

Sasanakowa Cherry Whisky

Again a simple mixer blend. 37% vol.

• Nose: bubblegum, glue,  sweet cherry yogurt (Danone or something along those lines)
• Mouth: mild, sugary, oily
• Finish: again bubblegum, oak, malt, mainly smooth with a tad sharp alcohol at the very end plus some minor cardboard

Comment: The cherry yogurt bubblegum is very unusual, otherwise not too much depth. But good to drink and interesting to boot

Points: 78

Sun Peace Extra Gold

Looks like a simple mixer blend to me. 37% vol.

• Nose: Grain, very light, very light stale beer, a young profile, gets a bit sharper over time
• Mouth: not much
• Finish: a bit corn, sugar water, young grain whisky

Comment: Seems very young and doesn't have much to offer.

Points: 72

White Oak Akashi Sea Anchor

An Akashi blend. 40% vol.

• Nose: Banana, glue, some acidity like in old apple juice, alcohol
• Mouth: Oily, sweet
• Finish: Malt, barley, some hints of chocolate and leafs

Comment: Not too bad, but seems a bit young with some unpleasant alcohol notes. Not sure about the sea or anchors here :)

75 points

Nikka Black Clear

A 37% vol no age statement blend from Nikka.

• Nose: Very light fruitiness, a bit alcohol bite, some sweetness. Not too horrible.
• Mouth: Alcoholic
• Finish: A bit fruit, fairly mild, again alcohol

Comment: Almost nothing to it, tastes like a bottom shelf mixer which it probably is.

70 points

(2017)

Suntory Royal SR

One of the Suntory Royal variants, this one is without age statement. 43% vol.

• Nose: Smokey, Tobacco but fairly subtle in general
• Mouth: Fairly bland...
• Finish: Bitter oak, corked wine, hay

Comment: Really not much going on here, the finish reminds more more of corked wine than anything. Would not recommed.

65 points

(1990s...)

Chichibu Chibidaru 2009 - 2013 Ichiro's Malt

A small "chibi" cask. Bottled at 53.5% vol.

• Nose: Very fruity, vanilla, juicy oak, banana, assorted tropical fruits,
• Mouth: Vanilla, passion fruit, creamy
• Finish: Medium long, a bit oak, cheesecake, tropical fruits again

Comments: love this!

88 points

Yoichi 8 Year Old Hokkaido Distillery

Can't say too much about this one except it's an eight year old Yochi. Bottled at 43% vol. in 500ml bottles.

• Nose: Peat, smoke, malt, sugar, honey, oak, a bit yeast
• Mouth: Malt, peat, oily and dry
• Finish: Dry peat and smoke, malt, oak and cedar wood, licorice

Comment: A fantastic younger version of the Yoichi with lots of power. Rather dry which suits this one very well. Nose is a bit restrained but mouth and finish are a lot of fun.

88 points

Shinshu Mars Komagatake - The Revival 2011

The first bottling since the restart of the Mars Komagatake distillery in 2011. Limited to 6000 bottles and bottled at 58% vol. cask strength. Aged for 3 years in bourbon casks.

• Nose: Intensive pear juice, some light smoke and peat, fermented apples, glue and vanilla
• Mouth: Very light without much body, a bit pepper
• Finish: Pepper, glue, a bit sharp, vanilla flavored yogurt, apple, cinnamon

Comment: Definitely a bit young, but a powerful complex nose. This has a lot of potential i think.

80 points

Yamazaki Limited Edition 2015

Now that the Limited Edition seems to be a yearly thing and I really enjoyed the 2014 one it's time to taste the 2015. Bottled again at 43% vol with no age statement.

• Nose: Sweet mango, strawberries, sweet oak, honey, apples, 
• Mouth: Oily, green grass and malt, tropical fruit juice
• Finish: Very light smoke and very very light peat, fruity, chestnut cream, lingering oak, rather long

Comment: A lovely summer dram, fruity and light but with depth. Some aspects feel like old whisky while others feel young and fresh... I guess that reflects a bit the whisky used in this NAS.

87 points

Nikka Taketsuru 17

Today I taste the Nikka Taketsuru 17yo pure malt. This one was bottled around 2010 with 43%vol.

• Nose: Mineralic, green grass, pear juice, sweet peat, 
• Mouth: Very mild, malty, light pepper
• Finish: Sherry, light oak, very mild again, bananas, burnt oak "smell" and sandalwood

Comment: Very enjoyable whisky, fairly simple but distinctively Japanese finish.

85 points

(2010)

Uozumi Single Malt Whisky

This single malt whisky, I think, comes from the Eigashima/White Oak distillery and from my understanding is aged in a Spanish sherry cask. Bottled at 46% unchillfiltred and uncolored.

• Nose: Vanilla, caramel, cedar wood with cinnamon and nuts, slightly sharp, grassy with honey and oak also some fresh apple, the bourbon cask is very noticeable with the nose of some dry sherry
• Mouth: Oily, oak and fresh cut twigs
• Finish: Relatively long and lingering with oak, vanilla and at the very end some sherry mixed with hay and sunflower oil

Comments: Definitely has the White Oak profile. Enjoyable and interesting whisky.

83 points

(2015)

Shinshu Mars 1992 for Shinanoya #1143

This Shinshu Mars was bottled for Shinanoya in 2004 and is 12 years old. Aged in an American white oak cask and bottled at 43% vol. in 720ml bottles.

• Nose: Tropical fruits, oak, honey, strawberries, sweet herbal tea
• Mouth: Oak and malt, spices, relatively dry
• Finish: Malt, burnt cookies, oak, grassy, malt, dry and not overly long

Comment: Very nice nose, full and fruity but the mouth and finish can't keep up. Maybe partly due to the 43% vol. A little bit more would have helped for sure, as it stands it feels a little bit shallow.

84 points

Yamazaki Limited Edition 2014

The Yamazaki Limited Edition 2014, so far released exclusively in Japan replaced the other Yamazaki NAS special releases for 2014. This one was aged in Sherry, Port and American oak cast with ages up to 20 years or so.
Bottled with 43% vol. and sold for a for Japanese whisky nowadays very reasonably price of around 65€.

• Nose: Honey melon, red berries, Katjes Tropenfrüchte - gummies with tropical fruit flavor, green grass, Sherry (PX'ish)
• Nose: Light oak, grassy, malt and berries
• Finish: Malt, fruits, sugar syrup, sherry, a moderate amount of oak, not overly long

Comment: A lovely NAS Yamazaki, rather fruity and well integrated all around. Maybe here and there a hint of harshness of some younger whisky shimmers trough. The for Yamazaki very unusual Port cask is very well integrated. While it works very well at 43% I think a little bit more wouldn't have harmed.

87 points

White Oak 14yo Wine Cask Finish

A fourteen year old White Oak Akashi whisky, finished in wine a white wine cask. Bottled at cask strength of 56% vol in 400 500ml bottles.

• Nose: Smokey, almost sherry cask matured like, a little bit peat mixed with a heavy red wine like a Rioja, leather, tobacco,  with time a bit wine acidity comes forth, water makes it dryer
• Mouth: Oily, buttery, some some and some red fruits, chocolate
• Finish: Smokey, tropical fruits, English wine gummy, oak, water brings out some dried oriental spices and chocolate which keeps lingering

Comment: This works really well and there are lots of tastes and flavors to discover. Water changes the character quite a bit as well. It isn't 100% harmonic with the wine finish I'd say but maybe 90%... 

88 points

Shinshu Mars Komagatake 10yo Wine Cask Finish

A ten year old wine cask finished malt bottled at 40% vol from the Shinshu Mars distillery. Limited to 500 bottles. Some pretty good info about the distillery can be found on the Whisky Mizuwari Blog.

• Nose: Cedar wood, red wine acidity, the malt hides a bit in the background, a little bit honey and some red berries
• Mouth: Oily, a little bit acidity, woods
• Finish: Smokey, oily, red berries, medium long

Comment: I feel the red wine finish overpowers the malt on the nose and mouth. I don't have too much experience with wine finish, but this one only works okay'ish in my opinion and maybe the malt would haven even been better off without the finish.

81 points