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Ichiro's Malt Ace of Hearts
Japanese Single Malt Whisky
American Oak Sherry Wood Cask #9004
Dist 1985 Bott 2007
56.5%
First of all, I have no idea how much this stuff costs or if you can even find it where you live. If you can understand THIS then let me know if it offers any information.
Again, no time to say much else today. See Malt Mission #105 for another whisky from Ichiro's card series or Takeshi Mogi's site for info on Hanyu. For other posts on Japanese whiskies click HERE.
This ends three weeks of international whiskies on the Malt Mission and the mission will be active but irregular over the next three weeks. Thanks for reading and have a Happy Merry everything.
TASTING NOTES:
The aromas seem to slide down the nose, you get hit up high and the senses seem to slide their figurative fingers down the edge of the blade-of-steel aromas. Poppadoms, pickle, ginger and sherry. Some smoke, mint, fudge and lager. Complex and busy, like some new flavour of bubblegum wrestling your senses as you wonder, "what is this?" Water opens up a flower shop with dozens perfume-wearing yummy-mummies and a smoke saturated stroller. Evocative, to say the least.
Eruption! Panama! Jump! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Van Halen whisky!!! Gummi bears, boiling brown rice, fennel, wax candles, flowers and perfume all before the explosion of the abv%. Oak, sherry, cheap advent calendar chocolate, hops, smoker's fingers, all ending in sugar, soot and wet wood.
SUMMARY:
Fun and rockin', this stuff is guaranteed to exhilarate. At around £150 a bottle and packing an exhilarating punch, this stuff is the 1980s poolside-cocaine-party of malt whisky. Dance the night away.
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Ginkgo
Japanese Blended Malt Whisky
46% abv
£52.50
Another odd whisky, this time a creation of indy whisky maverick Ichiro Akuto (Hanyu, Ichiro's Malts) from Japan. Unusual because it is made up of single malts from more than one Japanese distillery. This is odd because it is not the practice of Japanese distillers to trade casks between distilleries and distilling companies like they do in Scotland. I imagine this is a limited release (can there be enough casks to continue the supply?) although the bottle or literature offers on clues as to just how limited. Gavin D. Smith and Tom Cannavan's Whisky-Pages and the Number One Drinks Co. tells us that half of the stock is allocated to Japan and the rest is sold in specialist shops throughout the world.
On the excellent Nonjatta, Chris offers some explanation of the origins of the name 'Ginkgo'. For more Japanese whiskies enjoyed on the mission (more to come tomorrow and next week) click HERE and for more from Ichiro Akuto or Hanyu click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Slightly solvent initially, nailpolish, that opens up with floral aromas up high and sweet butter down low. Edinburgh rock. Clean and grainy with some citrus, plums, plastic bags and envelope glue. Water unleashes more breadiness and citrus, grapefruit (not pink) skin, and the harder solventy edges dissipate.
Rich, toasty, charming... with a dark side. Burnt sugar, toffeed, malty sweetness, some fruitiness in the form of apples, but generally oaky and toasty. Some smoke comes forward late in the development, especially accented by the addition of water. Minutes later there is a herbal, floral element that still lingers.
SUMMARY:
Was not crazy about the unreduced nose, although there was some fruity sweetness , it was generally hard, acetic and aldehydic. Water greatly assisted here bringing out the caramel and toasty barley sweeness. On the palate, water was also an aid in adding width to the flavour impact and opening up some dark, smoky corners.
See Nonjatta for Chris' tasting impressions.
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Ichiro's Malt Queen of Hearts
Hanyu 1990 (2006)
Bottling 107/324
54.6% abv
£85
I have had fun tasting this international week, but I look forward to getting back to Scotland where my knowledge base is much wider and I wont need to research/spend as much time as I had to this week. Learned a lot though, and hope you learned something too.
This is a single cask, single malt whisky from Hanyu, a distillery that WAS located in the town of the same name on the banks of the Tone river. The Toa company that owned the distillery went bankrupt and stopped distilling in 2000. Under new owners, the site was was completely dismantled in 2004. Ichiro Akuto, the grandson of the founders of the Hanyu distillery, managed to save the maturing stocks and is planning to set up a new distillery.
This is one part in a series of releases on a theme (I think you get it, with the whole deck of cards thing; Queen of Hearts, 2 of clubs, Ace of Hearts, etc.) Other releases tasted at the Whisky Pages. I will taste another soon.
Ichiro Akuto has been quite lucky that the maturing casks are apparently quite good and pleasing palattes the world over. More detailed information on Hanyu at Nonjatta, the site for Japanese whisky (in English).
This particular cask was matured in an ex-bourbon Hogshead and then finished (what's this?) in an ex-Cognac French Oak cask. Again, big thanks to The Whisky Exchange for the taster.
TASTING NOTES:
Alive and energetic. Salt. Licorice. Spicy. Lime and cheescake. Wood, plaster, a building site. Some smoke that becomes more evident with water. As does an apple cider smell with more candied licorice, Bassetts Allsorts.
Soft, but active in all parts of the mouth, exciting. Plaster again, but a lot of oak and sweet pie-like flavours. Pecan pie. Black wine gums, white wine, dry oakiness that rides onto the finish with fresh fennel and some more spiciness. With water it tastes just like a warm pecan pie with cream. Cafe au lait. Pleasant shisha smoke aroma. Finish is more apricot and soft old peach now. Empty glass minutes later has gorgeous filter coffee and brown sugar scents.
SUMMARY:
Exciting, adventurous whisky. Busy and a whole lot of fun to drink and talk about. Great packaging/theme labelling. Comparisons for context? Tough one...toughest one this week! Um, Dalmore, Old Pulteney 17, Cragganmore, and Glenlivet French Oak.
One complaint/question? The screw top. If someone is spending these prices on whiskies, rare whiskies, one hopes they won't be consumed quickly. Do these caps allow more or less evaporation in the bottle? Once opened? Might be a concern for consumers and/or collectors. Am I wrong? Be in touch/comment.
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