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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.
Malt Mission #211
Malt Mission #212
Malt Mission #213
Malt Mission #214
Malt Mission HOME
Nikka Whisky from the Barrel
Double Matured Blended Whisky
51.4% abv 24F30C
£21 (gift pack shown in image is £32)
Nikka is one of the biggest whisky producers in Japan and was founded by the godfather of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru. Nikka pioneered the single cask release format in Japan and owns Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. I have no time to write anything more today. I will update as soon as I get a chance.
Tasted with Tante Anne. Her notes appear in quotes.
TASTING NOTES:
Bubble gum, dry sherry, and a zip of orange zest. Solo. Evaporated milk, sweet caramel chews.
"Smells Japanese. Like old wooden Japanese homes" (She has spent a lot of time in Japan).
Minty sherry oak and plastic bags. Walnuts, raspberry seeds, delicious bittersweet notes like slices of Gala apples. Very dry finish with some pine and a cocoa smokiness.
SUMMARY:
Nose opened up with time and patience and made varied impressions. Water dulled the impact on the palate but helped discriminate between flavours. A very impressive package in a very impressive package. And another rich but affordable Japanese whisky. There is something Aberlour and Teaninich about it.
Tried it as a MIZUWARI and it was gentle, but with a surprisingly complex array of flavours from brioche to cherries to chocolatey smoke.
Malt Mission #211
Malt Mission #212
Malt Mission #213
Malt Mission #215
Malt Mission HOME
The Tyrconnell
Single Malt Irish Whisky
40% abv
£22
Another Irish today. We'll head to Japan tomorrow.
Named after a racing horse, The Tyrconnel (tire-kon-ill) was the flagship brand of the Watt distillery (1762). It was a bestselling whisky in the US before prohibition and didn't survive into the post-war period. Ireland's only independent distillery, Cooley Distillery, has recreated the brand and it is now the fastest growing Irish single malt and a real award winner, most recently having its 10yo Sherry finish win "Top Irish Whisky for 2007" at the Malt Maniacs Awards.
TASTING NOTES:
Sweet fresh apricots, oats and malt. Slightly phenolic with magic markers and ash.
Big maltiness, rich breadiness that is quite toasty. Grilled cheese sandwich. Hay.
SUMMARY:
Simple, malty, and easy drinking. Feels like it is on the verge of exploding with heights of flavours, but never really takes off. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Rounded, straighforward, very pleasant and hearty whisky.
Malt Mission #211
Malt Mission #212
Malt Mission #214
Malt Mission #215
Malt Mission HOME
Tullamore Dew
Irish Whiskey
43% abv
£17
$29.15(CAD) $25(USD)
Now we'll have a couple Irish whiskies, an under-represented sector of the whisky market here on Dr. Whisky, but the country of origin for many extremely popular and often excellent whiskies.
Tullamore Dew was first distilled in 1829 and takes its name from its town of origin and the initials of an early owner, Daniel E Williams (DEW). After 1887, the line "Give every man his dew" appeared on every bottle. Irish whiskey was extremely popular the world over, but a combination of American prohibition and trade/economic fallout following the Irish War of Independence(1922) effectively killed the prominence of Irish whiskey on the world market. Today, many distilleries and distilling companies have made great strides towards once again becoming a force to be reckoned with on the world whisk(e)y stage. Tullamore Dew is no longer produced at the original distillery in Tullamore, but in Cork. It sells in excess of 2.5million bottles per annum.
TASTING NOTES:
Odd whisky nose. Copper, envelope glue, herbs(basil). Cigarette smokers' breath. Very faint cherries. Polish Vodka-like.
Soft cherry ice cream and vanilla to start, soft, um, dew-y or misty impression upon swallowing that goes from flavours of juicy stone fruits to a drying oakiness.
SUMMARY:
Odd stuff. Very particular. Unlike anything else I've had on the mission.
Malt Mission #211
Malt Mission #213
Malt Mission #214
Malt Mission #215
Malt Mission HOME
Upper Ten
Finest Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£20
Another Monday morning and the third (and final) week of our internationally-themed weeks here on the mission. Hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for your emails, comments and links.
This is a blended whisky that, so far as I know, is only available in Norway. Like I have said before, the Vinmonopolet has some unusual malts and blends. But don't let this lead you to believe that this stuff is garbage. It has won awards(in the IWSC beating out Ballantines and Johnnie Walker) and outsells the best selling single malt(in Norway) by a longshot.
It is said that the blend is of superior quality because more money can be spent on its contents rather than marketing and/or promotion due to the fact it is illegal to advertise alcohol in Norway.
Apparently Upper Ten contains whisky from 30-35 distilleries and grain from 3. It has a malt content of 47% (which is VERY high for a standard blend). It is four years old, which means that the youngest whisky is 4 years old but there are considerably older whiskies used. It is a powerful whisky, sweet but full of smoke and malt. The blend originated after the First World War when a "pjolter" (whisky and seltzer) was being consumed as a 'cool', 'hip' cocktail. In 1927 there was a wish to create a Norwegian whisky that could be the whisky base in this cocktail. To match the salty seltzers there was a need for something powerful, a smoky and malty whisky. The ambition of this creation was to be among the top 10 in the list of Norway's most popular whiskies, hence the name. This has happened: Glenfiddich sells 10,000 litres per year while Upper Ten sells 165,000 litres.
The label reads "Distinctive peaty character," but the funnier bit is this: "Age old Scottish heritage and craftsmanship lie behind the making of Upper Ten Scotch Whisky at its best." I love these kinds of descriptions. What does it mean? What is "age-old (...) heritage"? Isn't heritage 'age old' by definition, that which has been inherited through the ages? In fact, isn't AGE always AGE-OLD and that which is OLD, old due to AGE? I seriously giggle out loud when I read these things, like shampoo bottles: they'll never say, "mediocre, not suitable for daily use, smells like soap," but rather things like, "Used daily, Shampoor helps fight residue building shine and body, leaving hair voluminous and fresh as the spring air."
But back to the Upper Ten label. The bigger blunder here lies in the last three words, "at its best." In the context of the sentence, is this label not telling us that ONLY when Upper Ten is at its best are craftsmanship and 'age-old' heritage responsible; beyond that, it is left to fate... ?! Love it. LOVE IT!
TASTING NOTES:
Very Teachers-like nose, with less toffee: creamy, damp and earthy, with a slightly astringent grain presence. Malt and some smoke are also present along with some salt and pepper, magazine paper and instant coffee.
Bready, malty, surprisingly weighty in the mouth. Smoke, peat, and damp earthiness are balanced against brown sugar and some pepper. A long, waxy finish of damp wood, oatmeal cookies, and some smoke. Long.
SUMMARY:
Rich, smoky whisky with a very long oaky finish that definitely tastes bigger than its price tag, as a great blended whisky should. Excellent, and for under £10 for a litre at Duty Free in Norway this is an absolute steal.
Don't trust the Dr? Need a second opinion? Visit Malthead's Upper Ten review HERE.
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission #212
Malt Mission #213
Malt Mission #214
Malt Mission #215
Malt Mission HOME
Hibiki 21 yo
Japanese Blended Whisky
43% abv
£90 (20,000 JPY)
Four years in a row has this blended Japanese whisky been awarded a Gold medal in the International Wine & Spirits Competition. Consistent, and consistently great.
Hibiki 17, 21 and 30 are made from spirit from the Suntory single malt distilleries Hakushu(1973) and Yamazaki(1923) and grain distillery Sungrain (I wonder how they came up with the name...)
More info can be found HERE, if you speak Japanese. Chris Bunting's Nonjatta is a great site (in English) for Japanese whisky as is Takeshi Mogi's Japanese Whisky Web. Misako Udo, author of the amazing The Scottish Whisky Distilleries is set to release a book about Japanese whisky distilleries just as soon as she finishes it. For other whiskies from Japan had on the mission click HERE. Have a nice weekend and please stay calm if you must engage the pre-Christmas mayhem.
TASTING NOTES:
Confectionery, candied nose with a luscious maltiness. A sour yeastiness acts in perfect balance to the sweetness. Carmelised, nutty, and really juicy.
Sensual and buttery. Hard peach and pipe tobacco. Dry, spicy oak. Sweet, yes, but with a toasty, smoky, oaky element to keep it all from becoming tart.
SUMMARY:
An absolute delight to stick your nose into, if a bit sweet for some. But it is as if every odour (apart from the more phenolic ones, peat, rubber, etc.) you think of can be ticked off as present. Unbelievably balanced, and dangerously drinkable. Is this to be consumed Japanese-style? Stupidly, I tried it, and it is an absolute waste as a Mizuwari.
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission HOME
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.
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission HOME
McKendric Western Style Whiskey
American Whiskey
45.2% abv
$40
I really haven't had enough (any?) American whisky on the mission. Dr. Whisky is under-representing a large section of the whisk(e)y industry. I will try to remedy this over the next century on the Malt Mission.
Considering the drops we have been having since Malt Mission 200, this phrase has become more difficult to say, but here goes... "and now for something completely different." Hello, McKendric's Western Style Whiskey.
The label proudly states "naturally flavoured and coloured with wood oak and mesquite chips." Apparently this is a grain whiskey [corn(51%?), rye, and barley(pot still?)] that matures in charred new-oak casks like most American whiskey and boubon, and is then 'mellowed' in a style similar to the Lincoln County Process but with mesquite as well as sugar maple wood chips/charcoal. Yee-haw.
So this is probably very young spirit with false accents of age due to wood-chipping...(seems clever to me)... probably not all that different from the whiskey consumed back in the "good ole days", matured as long as the cask(s) saddled to your steed yielded spirit, suffocating the white dog. So the name "Western Style" is probably quite accurate, thus making the word "whiskey" the most dubious on the label.
Tasted with Colin Harvey and his "notes" appear in "quotes."
TASTING NOTES:
"Not subtle." Spicy, cinnamon gum, root beer, spearmint verging on orange Listerine. "Trebor mints." Pretty busy, even complex, but certainly not well-intergrated.
Hot and bothered, angry. Not unlike the nose, really. Cloves, some bbq associations(smoke, coal, burnt rib ends), "sweet and bloody odd." Some leather and hippie incense in the finish, "(chewing sound) Really dry, like chewing on a cinnamon stick"
SUMMARY:
I am torn simply because although I wouldn't run out to taste this again, I would probably accept it if it was offered, would be willing try it with sarsaparilla and lime, and would certainly recommend trying it. Once. Pretty cool bottle, too.
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
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Compass Box Canto Cask 46
Blended/Vatted Malt Scotch Whisky
53.2% abv
$65(USD)
This is part of the Cantos Cask range from Compass Box Whisky Company. These are 16 single cask, cask strength whiskies that are, in effect, variations on a theme, or as John Glaser writes, "a canto within a poem." Using the same malt whiskies (Clynelish, Teaninich, and Dailuaine) Glaser has created 16 unique malt whiskies for different corners of the world. Each bottling has been selected by local importers and have exclusive availability within those markets (thus qualifying for my internationally-themed weeks here on the Malt Mission). This one was chosen by Park Avenue Liquor and is only available in the USA.
A 'canto' is a song or a division of a long poem used by many poets throughout our literary history. Dante uses the form in his Divine Comedy but I have spent more time with another 'infernal' canto-user, Ezra Pound. I have worked with The Cantos of Ezra Pound for years and would be hard pressed to name anything pleasurable after them. Even Pound grew to see them as a failure. They were never decisively completed, and Pound himself admitted he had 'botched' The Cantos, writing in the final 'complete' Canto (116):
Beauty is not the madness
Tho' my errors and wrecks lie about me.
And I am not a demigod,
I cannot make it cohere.
(116/ll.26-29)
Pound uses many different 'tools' available to the poet to construct his epic: different languages, verse forms, musical and ideogram notations, etc. Without getting too ostentatious, but feeling the need to make some connection here, John Glaser has similarly used different tools of whisky-making available to him, creating new forms. For the canto range each cask held the same malt whisky, but for the last 18 months the whiskies were aged in a range of different new oaks, both French and American, toasted to variable levels. For Canto 46, the oak is French and toasted to the level '7' (the range within the Canto series is from 4-9).
Pound's Canto 46 is part of the Fifth Decad of Cantos and addresses themes of usury, banking and credit, economic obsessions of Pound's. 46 follows a well-known Canto, Pound's 'litany against usury', "With Usura":
Usura rusteth the chisel
It rusteth the craft and the craftsman
It gnaweth the thread in the loom
None learneth to weave gold in her pattern;
(45, ll. 37-40)
Enough. Let's get to the whisky and celebrate a product of Glaser's unrusted (and well-priced) craftsmanship. All Compass Box whiskies had on the mission can be viewed HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Dessert at a candlelit dinner. Soft smoky atmosphere with vanilla, and Honey Nut Cheerios. Firm, hard, strong oak presence in a whisky that, in spite of the abv%, allows deep, prickle-free nosing. The inside of a Mars bar, dish-drying towel moisture and scents(sense?) of cleanliness. Lots of oak influence and a touch of cantaloupe (hehe, CANTOloupe... sorry), the seedy bit.
Big bourbony opening with the gorgeous Clynelish shining through, becoming toasty, smoky, and caramelised. Apples and honey, apples with bitter skin, or grapeskin... late flavours of licorice root and honey-sweetened fennel tea. Tingling. Oaky.
SUMMARY:
Single malt whisky snobs of the world, give it up; Compass Box adds (due) credibility to the art of blending and John Glaser has yet to misfire on a single creation (that he let's us taste). Great development in the mouth, engaging. Water is not necessary but unleashes more oily, waxy vanilla notes, perfumy spice like walking past LUSH, and baked elements in the nose as well as adding cumin seeds and peanuts on the palate. Not rich in a traditional sense. If 'rich' can mean a whisky that is oily, spicy, and sherried, this whisky abandons the sherry and allows a small serving (milk on porridge) creaminess, while the spice spits song. That kind of rich. Big and packing a lot of flavour into a very approachable dram. Very much an apertif style malt whisky with the fennel-y pastis flavours enhancing my appetite. But of course, I haven't had breakfast yet, so perhaps anything would rouse an appetite...
Malt Mission #206
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
Malt Mission HOME
Something Special
Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£25
Another week of international whiskies here on the Malt Mission. Last week focused on two corners of the world that are not necessarily synonymous with "whisky", Kenya and India. This week the focus will start with two Scotch whiskies that exist on an international stage, ie. they are not often found on these shores, then we'll make a mid-week stop at a real American oddity, and then move to Japan. We will keep the focus on international whiskies into next week. Hope you continue to dig it.
Something Special is a "deluxe blended whisky" from Hill Thomson, the makers of Queen Anne. The blending company began in 1793 with William Hill taking up an office in Edinburgh on Rose Street Lane, at the time a dodgy stretch that is now littered with pubs and restaurants, tourists and business people. Hill moved to a more desirable location on Fredrick St and was joined by William Thomson in 1857. In 1884 a third William (Shaw) joined the firm and helped create the successful Queen Anne blended whisky, a slightly peaty malt with a Speyside core. Hill Thomson had interest in Longmorn Distillery and to this day Longmorn is an ingredient in Queen Anne and Something Special. Something Special was created in the first half of the 20th century and, as R.J.S. McDowall writes, "is really worthy of a better name."
Today, Something Special is mainly found in South America and South Korea, two markets where they are lucky enough to have Old Parr 18, Grant's 18 and Buchanan's 18, three brands unavailable in their country of production, and three blends that I would LOVE to get my hands on. Many thanks to Tante Anne who brought me this bottle from Korea. Let's taste it!
TASTING NOTES:
Hard, mineral, and clean corn whisky aroma with some vanilla and peach. Youthful vodka-like astringency barely saved by nutty malt and slight glimpses of stone fruits and whiffs of vanilla.
Smoky start that turns stale and dies mid palate. Some cocoa, but like instant hot chocolate made with too few scoops of powder... watery and only a faint chocolate presence. I cannot describe this as oaky, more like drywall and synthetic fabrics in the finish.
SUMMARY:
I am always suspicious of companies that call themselves BEST CAR RENTAL or AMAZING CLEANERS or PERFECT PLUMBING. In my experience, if you have to use the services of a company that feels the need to evaluate themselves in their company title, something is bound to go wrong.
Something Special this is not. This is a whisky to pour and leave for 10 minutes (at least) before drinking to allow the neutral spirit aromas to fly off. Even still, what remains is nothing to write home about (or fly home with... though I am grateful Tante Anne did). Hilarious retro 1970s bottle is about all this puppy has going for it.
Malt Mission #205
Malt Mission #207
Malt Mission #208
Malt Mission #209
Malt Mission #210
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