This article was first published in 100 bottles of app.
Over the past 5 years or so, Japanese whisky has been a huge commercial success, at least in terms of price. In 2015, I just began to have some understanding of single malt whisky, when the whisky circle usually thinks that the style of Japanese whisky is its own, the price is average, and I remember that at that time, a treasure on Yamazaki was 350 yuan in 12 years, which was about 100 yuan more expensive than the basic model of most Scottish single malt whiskies, and only 180 yuan in 12 years in Baizhou.
Later, Japanese whisky staged a magical price increase drama, it is said that now Yamazaki 12 has more than 2,000 pieces, looking at the global price increase can only be matched by our national liquor.
For Chinese whisky lovers, especially new enthusiasts, the name of Japanese whisky can be said to be thunderous, and the price increase can also bring about an increase in popularity, which is really unfavorable. As for whether Japanese whisky is worth so much?
Only if you have drunk it yourself will you have a say. I really can't afford to buy the whole bottle, so I have to feel it with the sharing bottle, and the sharing bottle is also expensive.
When it comes to Japanese whisky, we have to mention Masataka Takezuru and Nobushiro Torii. In 1928, after the unsuccessful start-up of two Japanese whisky founders, Masataka Takezuru came to Hokkaido in pursuit of the Scottish style of whisky he adhered to, founding Nikka Co., Ltd. in 1929, Yuichi Distillery in 1934, and later Miyagi Gorge Distillery in Sendai in 1969. Then I'll start with Nikka's sake.
Recently, it was reported that Nikka's blended malt whisky brand Takezuru was going to stop selling all vintage wines and keep only nas. I can't find Takezuru 17, 21 years for the time being, just take this 2014-year-old Bamboo Crane 12-year as a representative, its base wine comes from Yushi and Miyagi Gorge Distillery, with an alcohol content of 40%.
The smell of this wine begins with a stimulating sensation similar to shoe wax and fruit vinegar, gradually released with a glass of decanting aromas, vanilla, apple juice, chamomile, sweet cream, baked grain aromas like popcorn, honey.
On the palate are maltose, cream, apple juice, nuts. The aftertaste is short and the wine is thin.
Bamboo Crane 12 Years is a blended malt that smells better than the taste
Whiskey, the wine is elegant and pleasant, the taste is bland, simple and easy to drink.
Isn't it worth that much? I don't think all the $200 or so Scottish blend whiskies are any worse than that.
Masataka Takezuru founded Yuichi with the intention of brewing Scottish-style whisky in Japan, so he chose Hokkaido, which has a similar climate to Scotland, to establish a distillery and dry malt with peat, which still retains the process of direct fire distillation to this day. Yuichi nas uses new American oak barrels and refilled sherry barrels to mature into the original wine, with an alcohol content of 45%.
Smelling as light as smoke, it quickly turned to caramel, rock sugar sydney, the sweetness of sugar-watered pineapple, and the grain aroma similar to whole wheat bread.
The entrance is still soft peat, lightly smoked, followed by apple juice, melon, pineapple slightly sour, maltose sweetness, a little nutty, and finally a faint bitter rhyme of chocolate, medium and long aftertaste, light peat and fruit.
Yushi nas is a delicately blended wine with peat and a variety of fruit flavors.
Isn't it worth that much? Although this is a nas, it is basically up to the level of the basic aged single malt whisky in the Scottish Highlands.
Miyagi Gorge is another distillery that Masataka Takezuru founded in Sendai, and for details of this distillery, please see the article by JJKMLSS Teacher. Miyagi Ishina nas uses new oak barrels, and then fills bourbon barrels and shirley barrels to mature into the original sake, with an alcohol content of 45%.
The smell is citrus, apple, floral, whipped cream, sweet bread, croissant, baked grain, stubble wood.
On the palate are honey water, apple juice, nuts, herbal tea, tobacco. The aftertaste is short and the wine is thin.
Although the smell of this wine is a little light, it is delicate and beautiful, the taste is somewhat pale, and the gap is relatively large compared with the smell.
Is it worth it so expensive? I think there are some better options in both the Speys and Highlands base models.
Nikka and Suntory represent two different paths to Japanese whisky, starting with Masataka Takezuru leaving Shouya in 1929 and parting ways with Nobushiro Torii.
If Yuichi and Miyagi Gorge represent Masataka Takezuru's insistence on the flavor of Scotch whisky, Yamazaki and Shirashu represent Torii's exploration of "Japanese-inspired" whisky.
Compared with the Nikka Group, suntory's commercial marketing methods are more sophisticated, it took the lead in positioning its whisky brand as a high-end luxury, using pricing and a unique oriental cultural brand image to distinguish its products from Scotch whisky, and successfully seized the high-end whisky market.
Next let me feel the whisky of suntory.
Although articles about Yamazaki Distillery focus on its water source and water barrels, in my opinion, what makes Yamazaki the most unique is its stills. Yamazaki Distillery has 12 stills, 6 of which vary in size and angle of Lynn's arms, and Yamazaki uses both a stainless steel worm barrel condenser and a wood worm barrel condenser, and a distillery can distill a variety of original sake in various bodies and flavors, which is a very remarkable thing.
Founded in 1923, Yamazaki Distillery is the oldest whisky distillery in Japan. Yamazaki 12 years as the distillery's flagship product, using the original wine aged with refill Bourbon barrels, shirley barrels and water litter barrels, the alcohol content of 43%.
Yamazaki's 12-year-old smell is very light, and the main flavors are caramel, creamy chocolate, vanilla, dried apricots, and a little tobacco.
Delicate taste, light honey water, cocoa powder, apple juice, oak, earth. Medium-length aftertaste, maltose, dark chocolate, apple juice, soft and weak body.
Yamazaki's 12 years are a bit vague in smell and taste, too light, no sense of strength, and no personality.
Is it worth so much? In my opinion, Yamazaki 12 years light is not like a single malt whisky, or not like whisky.
Yamazaki 18 years old using the same refill Bourbon barrel, shirley barrel and water bottle matured original sake, alcohol content of 43%
The smell begins with sage, cloves, cinnamon, various intricate spice notes, followed by a rich sweet aroma of caramel, mixed with custard paste and raisins, preserved peaches, dried apricots, slow dark chocolate, the smell of earth covered with pine needles, and finally the rosin mixed with woody notes.
In the mouth, caramel sweetness is elegant, smoked pine branches, black tea, cinnamon, dark chocolate, jam, woody aromas. Long aftertaste, dark chocolate, syrup, fragrant wood.
It is undeniable that Yamazaki 18 years is a very good whisky, its wine aroma is layered, rich and complex, the taste is bright and gorgeous, and the aftertaste is long-lasting.
Is it worth it so expensive? I checked it and found that the price of Yamazaki's 18-year-old was similar to the price of whiskey from some Scottish distilleries for 40 years, and suddenly felt that macallan, which had been criticized by me for its price, had a good value.
Founded in 1973, The Hakushu Distillery is located in the mountain forest of Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture, with a beautiful natural environment. Similar to Yamazaki, The Shirashu Distillery has six pairs of distillers of different shapes that can distill the original sake of various sake bodies.
Some of the original liquor in Baizhou use peat-dried malt, and the finished whiskey retains a phenol value of about 7-9 ppm, which will have a light peat flavor.
It is said that the sale of Shirashu in 12 years has been discontinued in some areas, so let's try it first. This wine is blended with the original wine aged in refilled Bourbon barrels and refilled shirley barrels, and has an alcohol content of 43%.
Smell is tobacco, lemon juice, denim, oak, a very light peat, honey, pear, peach juice, baked grain.
Entrance, a little smoked, maltose, chocolate, cream candy, grass. Medium-length aftertaste, smoky, honey water, grapefruit juice.
The smell and taste of Baizhou 12 years is relatively light, and the light peat brings a sense of layering, which has a modified effect on the overall flavor and gives this bland whisky a touch of character.
Is it worth so much? It's like a bland Highland base.
In 18 years, Baizhou used the same refill Bourbon barrel and refill shirley barrel matured in 12 years, and the alcohol content was 43%.
The smell begins with grapefruit, lemon, tannins, a little smoky, oak, spreading with a glass of decanting, vanilla, lemon cake, cream cheese, caramel apples.
On the palate is the sweetness of maltose, light smoky, sea salt, orange hard candy, apple juice, woody. Medium-length aftertaste, smoky, lemon, oak.
Compared with 12 years, Baizhou 18 years, whether it smells or tastes, is more three-dimensional, but it is still more convergent and restrained, and the overall flavor gives me the impression of being a little narrow and small.
Is it worth so much? Such a frigid whisky also has its scarcity.
Suntory is suntory's premium blended whisky brand, and it is said that Yamazaki and Hakushu's premium original sake will give priority to the blending of the blend, and its grain whisky base wine comes from the Chita Distillery. And the packaging of the cup is also full of high-end feeling.
The 17th edition has been discontinued in some regions earlier, and the latest 2017 edition has been put on sale. 43% alcohol by alcohol.
The smell is sweet floral, malt syrup mixed with honey, green papaya, mango, sweet orange, white chocolate, sweet honey and a faint woody aroma support a variety of fruit fragrances, intricate floral fragrances dotted on it.
In the mouth, vanilla mango mousse, banana ice cream, passion juice with honey, the performance of sweetness is very restrained, a little saltiness provides enough depth for the whole taste, the aftertaste is long, the sweetness of figs and yellow peaches, accompanied by a faint salty, elegant woody aroma flashes.
Year 17 is a wine that has touched me, and I used to think of it as the pinnacle of blending whisky. Its beautiful aroma like a late spring garden is intoxicating, and its wonderful and comfortable taste seems to melt people.
Is it worth so much? Although 17 years has given me a special experience, after drinking more whisky, I know that it is not irreplaceable, and the flavor of some medium- and high-aged premium spey and Highland single malt whisky is not lost to it.
The 21st edition has been discontinued in some regions earlier, and the latest Edition of the 21st Edition has been put on sale. Abv.: 43%
Smell, caramel, dark chocolate, grape juice concentrate, a hint of smoke, after a while, floral notes, creamy banana boat, liquid foundation, apple jam, oak.
On the palate are caramel, violet, herbal tea, banana cake, like drinking diluted perfume, a little smoky and sea salt neutralizes a bit of greasy aromas, followed by woody aromas. Medium long aftertaste, floral notes, honey water, oak.
The smell of the 21st year is very rich, and the flavor of the sherry barrel is like a base color to set off the taste of various fragrant flowers and desserts. The taste is a bit greasy, the taste of cosmetics is a little weird, but fortunately there is also saltiness that maintains the balance.
Is it worth so much? I think we can find some more coordinated and affordable options in high vintage Scotch whiskies.
This Japanese whiskey tasting really made my mouth light and uncomfortable. I think Japanese whisky is more suitable for whisky lovers who are not very receptive to spirits, and spirit lovers like me who have switched from drinking white wine to drinking whiskey are really difficult to get too much pleasure from the tasting of Japanese whisky.
As for the question of whether it is worth it, I think that Japanese whisky, as a typical luxury, naturally has its applicable customer base, and the starting point of each Japanese whisky consumer must be different, and the satisfaction they get from Japanese whisky is also different. It's just that I don't think I'm going to pay for Japanese whiskey anymore.