Category: Japan | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

March 14, 2017March 14, 2017

Tasting: Mars Shinshu Komagatake 2012 – 2016 for LMDW

Mars Shinshu Komagatake 2002 - 2016 for LMDW

Dram data:
Distillery: Mars Shinshu
Bottler: bottled for LMDW
Distilled: 2012
Bottled: 2016
Age: ca. 4 years
Limitation: –
Casks: American white oak puncheon 1555
Alcohol: 58,8%
unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Time for a new whisky from a new (to me) Japanese distillery. Japanese whisky is all the craze – let’s see how well this malt, which was bottled for La Maison Du Whisky’s 60th anniversary, fares!

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark gold
The nose doesn’t hide the fact that this is a young whisky. Alcohol up front with a hint of glue which almost immediately turns into a mixture of citrus, citrus blossom, cherry blossom and orange gummy bears. Forgive the obvious cliche, but this noses like a light whisky enjoyed in the midst of the Japanese cherry blossom season on a tranquil spring day. Give it a few minutes and notes of honey, slightly burnt vanilla pudding, brown sugar and sweet citrus cake appear. Light and young like a delicate Japanese Geisha.
Continue reading “Tasting: Mars Shinshu Komagatake 2012 – 2016 for LMDW”

September 8, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Suntory Kakubin 80 Proof NAS Blended Whisky

Dram data:
Distillery: Suntory
Bottler: original bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: –
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Cask: –
Alcohol: 40%
most likely chill filtered and coloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: orange gold
This is, according to this source, Japan’s #1 whisky (Please correct me if that’s wrong…). Does that make it the Johnnie Walker Red Label of the Japanese whiskies? Easily quaffable, but nothing special? Only one way to find out!
The nose opens on the light and sweet side. No loud spirity grain, as I feared, that’s a good start! Honey, light citrus (or, rather, sweet orange), tinned tangerine, vanilla, some toffee, a whiff of pickled ginger and a bouquet of flowers you bring home to the missus when you need to apologise for something. Well, maybe a hint of bitterness, but that’s hard to pin down. Quite pleasant, actually, definitely not “old and aged”, but it’s got a quality and a moderate complexity to it, I have to say. Continue reading “Tasting: Suntory Kakubin 80 Proof NAS Blended Whisky”

January 11, 2015October 7, 2016

Tasting: Nikka Pure Malt White

Dram data:

Distillery: – (blended Malt)
Bottler: Nikka
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2013-2014
Bottle Code: 6/14C441254
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Price at the time of purchasing: ca. 40€ (yes, I paid too much at a retail store…)
Casks: –
Alcohol: 43%
Most likely chill filtered and artificially coloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: honey. Most likely fake.
The nose greets me with a combination of smoke, sweetness and herbal spices. It’s not often I encounter this kind of harmony, but then again this is a blended malt and as such it is designed to be that way. Continue reading “Tasting: Nikka Pure Malt White”