Yamazaki Whisky: Wood You Believe It?

Not so much 'Norwegian Wood' as 'Japanese Wood'

When you walk in to a room, there is a lot to take in. The furniture, the carpet, the colours on the walls. Is there any art hanging up and if so, what does it add to the room; what does it say about the owners? How is the room laid out, and for what purpose?

However, when we walk in to a room, we don't usually run through this check-list of points. Not consciously, anyway.

But a room is given life, personality and character by the items in it and the way it has been dressed and arranged.

Unless you go out and buy a single cask, every bottle of whisky you buy has been blended, be it from a mixture of grain and malts from different distilleries into what we would traditionally define as a 'blended whisky', or those which carry the moniker of 'single malt' which are also blended together, just using malts from one distillery.

Every so often as drinks writers, we are invited to try 'deconstructions' of both blends and single malts. Fascinating to write about, these occasions give a real insight in to the make up of certain whiskies.

Conversations with the Master Blender reveal interesting nuggets as to the flavour profile of the overall mix (percentages of first fill sherry, to refill bourbon, etc.) but these geeky facts may not excite everyone. Personally, I don't want an explanation of how an aeroplane works before getting on it; I just want to have a great customer experience with my flight. In the same way, most people don't give two hoots as to the make-up of their blended or single malt whisky; they just want it to taste good.

However, some of the whiskies which go in to making up a standard release of a single malt are pretty bloody good. So much so, that the Japanese distillers Suntory have decided to release a series of whiskies which, we are told, make up the constituent parts of their Yamazaki 12 Year Old.

This series will be made up of four release, two already on the market. These editions showcase the whisky matured in individual styles of casks: a puncheon, a bourbon barrel and a heavy sherry barrel (all named, cunningly, 'Bourbon', 'Puncheon' and 'Sherry') will be available for around £70. The jewel in the crown is the Mizunara release, an edition matured in casks made from the famous Japanese variety of oak. This will weigh in around the £250 price point.

These four release are all markedly different, with the puncheon and bourbon barrel showing off light and delicate whisky, the sherry barrel giving excellent, heavily sherried hooch which, for the money, seems absurdly good. The wild-card player in the squad is the Japanese oak release:

Yamazaki - Mizunara (480 litre barrel) - NAS - 48% abv

Nose: a big hit of dried apricots, figs, toasted almonds (almond croissant), marzipan, light and aromatic spices.

Palate: the initial hit is of toasted tobacco leaf, over-ripe banana, which develops into banana bread and ever such a delicate hint of smoke.

Finish: heavy butterscotch, tropical fruits of mango and passion fruit, all finished nicely with delicate pear drops.

Overall: This is a whisky full of wonderful character and bold statements. Delicious and intriguing, this is well worth a try.

These individual bottlings may well be excellent in their own right (and there isn't a ringer in the flight), but the really interesting conclusion was trying the Yamazaki 12.

A whisky which we feel is underrated, the flavours of cooking apples, cinnamon, vanilla and flapjacks left us in no doubt that, once again, the quality of whisky coming out of Japan is of the highest order.

These whiskies have not just been put together, they have been expertly constructed by masters of liquid Feng Shui to create a room with personality, character and flavour.

Kampai!

Hurlingham Highlights

For the second year running, Whisky Live rolled into the wonderfully secluded grounds of Hurlingham Tennis Club in South West London for a weekend of fine single malts and a catch up with old friends.

Over the 2 days, 1,200 avid whisky nuts crammed in to the grand hall, eager to try some classic drams from distilleries all over the world, as well as some brand new and sneak previews of whiskies to be released later this year.

As with last year, we were there, pens at the ready to bring you all the gossip and tasting notes!

First up- a real coup.



A few months ago, we got to try Highland Park's excellent Earl Magnus 15 yo bottling, which flew out the door quicker than free tickets to Glastonbury Festival. Yesterday, the irrepressible Mr Gerry Tosh (Brand Ambassador Of The Year at this year's WWA's!) was on hand to allow us a sample of the second release in the saga - Saint Magnus. This bottling follows on from where Earl left off (the story goes that Earl Magnus was killed by his evil and blood thirsty cousin, Haakon over a power struggle to control the Orkney Isles)

Saint Magnus will be a younger bottling (12 years old) at 52.6%, containing a high proportion of whisky matured in sherry wood and is due to hit the shops later this summer, with a slightly bigger outturn than the Earl Magnus bottling. Apparently pre-orders are shaping up extremely well already, so expect this one to repeat the success of the first release.

here's our tasting notes:

Highland Park - Saint Magnus - 12 years old - 52.6%

Nose: Really big sherry wood notes on the first nosing, with classic HP dried fruits and a wonderfully spicy hit. This is drier than Earl Magnus and further sniffs reveal a delicate aromatic peat note, which balances the sherry influence nicely.

Palate: Mouth coating from the first sip. That sherry encountered on the nose, swirls around the palate with real authority. Burnt orange notes, pepper, leading into a licorice sweetness all jostle for authority. A big hitting and direct dram.

Finish: The dryer notes from the sherry, give this a very lengthy and oaky finish, with more of that smoke on the death.

Overall: Another cracker. The Earl Magnus is a very differently styled dram to this, but Highland Park fans will be delighted with the way the saga is playing out.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS.... THE SAGA IS TO BECOME A TRILOGY...!

Ooh er. This could be interesting. The antagonist of the story, Haakon is also to be given a whisky bearing his name- and not unlike his character, Gerry points out that the 3rd bottling will be "Big, powerful and.... Beastly!"

We got to try the very first draft of Haakon as well. Still in the planning stage, this whisky will be an 18 yo, bottled around caskstrength like the previous 2. The release date has yet to be finalised, but expect to see it emerge in around 16- 18 months.

The first draft was around 46% and again had a high proportion of sherry wood, which Gerry mentioned will be supplemented with some American oak (filled with sherry, not bourbon) in later drafts. Here's our impression of this work-in-progress giant:

Highland Park - Haakon (first draft)- 18 years old - 46%

Nose: Noticeably different to the Saint Magnus. Lots of fruit, but much more fragrant, leaning further towards an aromatic peat. Similar honeyed sweet notes to that of the regular 18 yo bottling.

Palate: Tropical fruit and coconut notes. The sherry isn't as prominent as Saint Magnus, but is certainly there, brooding away in the shadows, rather like Haakon!!

Finish: The sweet honeyed notes give way into a dryer spice. Lingering but lacking the directness of its caskstrength cousins.

Overall: Oh so drinkable now- it has all the hallmarks of the wonderful 18 yo bottling, but needs to be more 'beastly' in strength!! There is no doubt that this promises to be an EPIC whisky. And one that we can't wait to see the outcome of.

Wow! what a line up so far.. but that's just the start of it!!

In addition to the Highland park exclusives, Suntory were also proud to bring 2 very new bottling's to the table as well, both to be released later this summer. As always- we were there to dive in with the first samples....

Yamazaki - Puncheon edition- 48% - ltd to 3000 bottles - Scheduled for a July release

Nose: Red berries/ milk chocolate, slight spice (nutmeg) and strawberry sherbet. Becomes more perfumed over time. Wonderful, understated but very expressive.

Palate: So delicate on the palate- has the hallmarks of what you would expect from Yamazaki, but has superb sweet cereal, more red berries and a lovely creamy after note. Hubba Bubba chewing gum fruitiness too!

Finish: Very creamy as the palate dries, but an eloquent and enjoyable dram.

Overall: Another excellent bottling from this continuously innovating distillery. Snap this up in July, before it all goes.

Next up - something heavily peated from Hakushu. Due for a similar summer release date, this Hakushu will continue in the line of peated expressions, but will be a limited European outturn of 2-3000 bottles.

Hakushu - Heavily Peated - Ltd summer release

Nose: Deft and heady- carbolic soap, lemony washing up suds and a lot of fruit!! Toffee apple and sweet candy floss. A real bag of aroma.

Palate: A slightly salty intro, into Parma Violets with a wash of delicate peat at first, but then comes the main course of aromatic wood smoke. It's so different to Islay peat, a wall of floral flavours. Excellent

Finish: Lingering smoky notes, but still delicate and sweet on the death.

Overall: For Hakushu fans, this will absolutely delight. For peated whisky freaks, you simply must grab a bottle when the summer comes.

The final treat from this year’s Whisky Live, was the new 14 Year Old Glenfiddich, Rich Oak. This ‘fiddich is finished in both new American Oak and new European Oak (they call the casks “untouched”), with the latter being an industry first, according to the distillery. We’re fans of Glenfiddich, both the spirit and the people, here at caskstrength.net, so let’s see how this one sits with the rest of their core range:

Glenfiddich Rich Oak - 14 Years Old – 40% Vol – 70cl

Nose: white PVA glue, orange and a hint of mint. There are some apricots and other fruits in there, but I can’t get beyond that whiff of PVA glue.

Palate: I found this a little too weak. The flavours that are there, lime juice and cinnamon notes, don’t have a lot of energy, but the balance is good.

Finish: There is a warming bitterness on the finish and considering the use of “untouched” oak, they have managed to avoid too much dryness.

Overall: I found this dram to be a little lacklustre on the palate, but well balanced in the finish. The PVA nose still haunts me, however... RRP £30.99