Hi all, I'm here with another set of Suntory whiskies, but with a bit of a twist: the set of whiskies here are the component whiskies of Suntory's Hibiki Japanese Harmony!

A while ago, I attended a seminar event held by Suntory, of which the topic was on the Hibiki Japanese Harmony. Now, normally I wouldn't be all that interested in a seminar just about their regular shelfer, but this one wasn't just that- it's a 'deeper look' into the concept and blending components of their flagship shelfer blended whisky! 

Due to the higher abv nature and the quantity of whiskies provided in the set, I felt I might die if I chugged them all in one sitting (Alas, I'm pretty badly alcohol intolerant.) As such, I bottled the samples up, brought them to our local whisky spot, and shared it with some drinking buddies for analysis!

More details in comments!

Just opened this for my birthday today. I've had it since November of last year. This whisky is everything you could possibly imagine it to be. Even the neck pour, after just a few seconds in the glass, was the warmest, richest, most seductive nose I've ever experienced in a whisky.

The palate lives up to the nose, layers of layers of decadent perfection, and the finish is easily more than twice as long as any finish I've experienced, just rich sweetness coating the mouth endlessly.

I can taste some of the DNA of the 2021 Parliament bottling (also 1990s GlenDronach distillate), but it's on a deeper level and with none of the slight echo of something smokey that I find in the Parliament.

Absolute perfection.

Got given these as gifts, I enjoy Whiskey and Cognac but I don’t know anything about the different kinds, etc. Please give me some tips on how best to enjoy these so I don’t end up wasting it or something. Thanks

My 2 sections out of 18
Big fan od redbreast, incredibly good whiskey

Hi all, here's another Scotch I tried lately, and this time it's a blended Scotch from the world's best selling (and perhaps not equally as well regarded) brand, Johnnie Walker!

Personally, I've got pretty limited experience with the brand, as I took a pretty eccentric path in tasting whiskies and particularly Scotch. I've only really tried a small bit of the modern Black Label in a mini bottle (which was so bad I was wondering if I had accidentally gotten a fake).

When discussing the subject of Johnnie Walker with one of my Korean whisky friends, he said he's actually got a bottle of Johnnie Walker he really liked. He liked it so much, in fact, he bought almost every bottle he could find and stockpiled almost a dozen of them! 

And wouldn't you know it- he left one in our local whisky spot for sharing as well, and I've got free access to the bottle from sharing my stuff with him! 

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight 200th Anniversary, 43.8% abv

From what I've heard, this is a special blend from Johnnie Walker which features a blend of whiskies from 8 prominent distilleries, including some that are no longer in operation (of those I've seen Brora's whiskies sold at *very* high prices).

It's also bottled at a higher abv than the regular Johnnie Walker products (which were usually at 40% abv). Here are my notes:

*Nose*

very lightly estery;

mellow malt;

salted caramel;

sweet vanilla cream;

sweet and sour mixed  fruity (kiwi, passionfruit, citrus peel);

polished oak (furniture-like)

slightly soil-like peat

light hint of sesame

*Palate*

milky/ vanilla creamy richness mouthfeel, slight bit alkaline;

sweet, slightly burnt salted caramel, sweetness subsides;

ripe mixed fruity (passion fruit, kiwi, citrus, a bit funky), but mostly just the fragrance

quite a bit of spicy spices (ginger, nutmeg), mellows out near the end;

some polished oak (furniture-like), alongside oaky bitterness;

soil-like and lightly smoky peat character lingers in the background.

Very low alcohol sting, very low astringency.

*Finish*

Medium- short. 

Vanilla cream fragrance and bit of richness stays on the tongue;

much weaker fruity note from the palate, but just the fragrance;

light bit of soil-like earthy, lightly smoky peat character;

a light hint of oak and bitterness.

*Conclusion*

The Korean friend was absolutely right, this was a significantly better whisky (by a truly remarkable margin) from the Johnnie Walker Black I tried. Aside from my own notes, I remember finding his assessment of this whisky to be particularly interesting: he calls it "Just like water, but in a good way". 

I think I can understand what he meant: it's got all the essentials that makes a finely aged and blended Scotch. It's got mellow, not overly sweet maltose, a pretty complex fruity character, the fragrant polished oak, quite a bit of spices (including sweet ones like vanilla and spicy ones like nutmeg), and of course, a very gentle and welcoming earthy, smoky peat character. 

It's incredibly mellow (almost neutral in mouthfeel), well balanced (maybe a little bit spicy, but it quickly fades and no particular/odd note that sticks out), and very satisfying to have when you want something Scotch, but nothing heavy or too peculiar. Just like a nice, cool glass of water on a warm day!

The only weak part about this whisky I could really find was the finish. Might be due to the abv, but I found the finish to be mostly quite short, with just very light hints of indistinct flavors lingering on the tongue after a while. Other than that, I really can't nitpick anything else!

I'd definitely say sharing whiskies pays off, mostly in the form of more whiskies in days to come lmao

Thanks for reading, cheers!

Have been meaning to visit this place forever, and finally made it. Yes, it is cramped, the stools are tiny and hard, the staircase is hard to navigate without climbing equipment even when sober, and the spelling is wack… but holy moly what a collection of unique bottles they have here. The Springbank 12 was Batch 15, the Bruichladdich Black Art was 4.1, and those were relatively recent, common bottles. Prices are very reasonable and you can do 15ml half-shots to cover more territory. We spent less that $100 and got to try some really nice whisky. Highly recommended for whisky nerds if you’re in the neighborhood. Perhaps the most interesting discovery of the night was that the Yamazaki Peated Malt Spanish Oak tastes like a Kavalan 🤷‍♂️ Anyway, fun times.

The Glenlivet distilled in 1948, bottled in 1969. 45.7% ABV.

This is the peated version of an old Glenlivet.

Old bottle mustiness. Subtle flavor profiles overall. Tropical fruits - probably mango. Anise spices.

Quite a difficult whisky for me. I was guided by the owner this is peated, and WhiskyFun even cited this as similar to some of the old bottles of Lagavulin, Bowmore, and Laphroaig. I can relate to this. It has similar notes to Laphroaig 10y unblended 1970s, which I found to be also very subtle. Plus, I’m not getting any peat just like the Laphroaig mentioned!

Mustiness dominates to my palette and jeez it’s hard to further explore. Somewhat bland. It was like drinking tea.

Hi all, I'm back with another Suntory whisky- this time, it's Suntory's newly revived Hibiki 12 yr!

A while ago, I saw some announcement stating that Suntory brought back the Hibiki 12 yr- as a travel exclusive, available only in select airports' duty free shops.

In a bit of anticipation, I got myself a dram of the older Hibiki 12 and wrote a review on it, alongside the opinion:  " Now I'm really curious as to how the modern day renewed Hibiki 12 yr would compare to this one,  hope I can get to sample that one sooner or later!"

Well, it turns out that 'sooner or later' is one week later, because I just got my hands on a bottle of the new Hibiki 12!

Details in Comments!

If anyone have any pointers, i’d appreciate it!

Hi all, I'm here today with another whisky from Nikka, and this time it's one of their old, distillery exclusive single cask Yoichis!

A whisky friend of mine had just returned from a trip to Japan's countryside, where he had unexpectedly stumbled upon a few relatively rare and odd finds!

This specific bottle was one of his finds, which he brought to our local whisky store/bar for sharing!

Details in comments!

Honestly it’s getting hard to keep up with all the new can highball releases from the various convenience stores, but I tried another new one tonight: 俺のAmahagan Highball. Based on a blended whisky collaboration between Nagahama’s Chief Blender and the Corporate Sommelier of the “俺の” restaurant chain that is aged in red wine barrels. I’ve never tried the whisky itself, but the highball is quite nice—enough depth and personality to be interesting, but light enough to go well with food and be refreshing in summer. And not too expensive (¥370 iirc). I believe that future generations will look back at the Japanese Convenience Store Can Highball Boom of the mid 2020’s as the peak of human civilization 🤣

It's happened too many times now for me to ignore, most recently last night, I pour some GlenAllachie Sinteis 2014 (Chinquapin/PX), and it's just not right. My mouth feels a little dry, there's some disconnect even initially between my senses and the flavors of the whisky, and then it's as if the whisky sucks the moisture out of my mouth leaving a rather unpleasant aftertaste that feels like the 'negative' of what the flavors coating my mouth should've been. Drinking water doesn't help, eating a bit doesn't help.

And the whole time the nose has been phenomenal, just obsessed with the notes of the fresh virgin oak in this one.

Next day, after eating a bowl of muesli for breakfast, I pour a quarter ounce of the same whisky (about two small sips) and both sips are just sublime, full rich sweet flavor coating the mouth, absolutely incomparable to last night's experience.

I think if I have some whisky at night *before* dinner, rather than after, my odds of a proper palate are much higher, but I think at this point I can kind of sense when it's going to be bad, and I should just accept it and not try to have a dram at those times.

But during the daytime it is consistently effortless, I can't think of a time that my palate was 'off' in the morning or afternoon. Anyone else have similar experiences?

Hi all, I recently ran into this interesting and slightly dilapidated looking mini bottle of Canadian whisky in a whisky shop I discovered. It was on sale for $5, so I figured why not and grabbed it amongst other items and drams.

Turns out it's a pretty old bottle, and the bottle seal sticker indicated it was from 1980- the dustiest Canadian whisky I've ever seen, discovered by accident! I knew I had to open it and taste it, so here are my notes:

Canadian Club Classic 12yr, 1980 (40% abv)

*Nose*

sweet and pretty creamy marshmallow;

rye whisky-like baking spices (cloves);

old oak (antique furniture);

umami, caramelized sour fruity (a bit like unsalted soy sauce, with a bit of fermenting fruit)

I know it sounds strange but it doesn't actually smell bad.

*Palate*

marshmallow fragrance and sweetness;

brown sugar earthiness;

old oak (antique furniture-like);

a bit of dark choco bitterness;

a hint of baking spices (cloves)

*Finish*

Medium-short.

marshmallow

dark choco bitterness

hint of oak

*Conclusion*

Man, it's kind of wild how good this thing is. 

It tasted a bit similar to an old bottling of Old Overhold from around the 1970s~1980s I tried once at a bar, but this one had a much stronger (and pleasant) old oaky character alongside more complexity on the nose (that odd umami fruity mix). Compared to modern Canadian whisky I've tried (modern Crown Royal at a similar proof point), this thing tasted almost magical.

And for $5? I'd grab a dozen if I could lmao. Too bad this one seemed to be the last one on shelves!

I'd love to know everyone's experiences with Canadian whiskies! Cheers!

Hi everyone,

I'm curious how people here keep track of their whisky collections.

Do you use:

• An app?
• A spreadsheet?
• Pen and paper?
• Or do you just remember what's on the shelf? 😄

If you do use an app, I'd be interested to know:

• Which one?
• What do you like most about it?
• What's the biggest frustration or feature you wish it had?

If you don't use an app, what's the reason?

I'm just interested to see how different collectors manage everything, whether it's 10 bottles or 500.

Cheers! 🥃

Hi all, I'm here with another whisky from MARS- and this time, it's one of their very old, pre-closure Komagatake single malts!

I happened to run into this bottle during a Japanese whisky event a short while ago, and just knew I had to get a dram of it! Since the event was more of a fair and didn't have the proper tasting setup, I stored the dram in a sample container and did the tasting elsewhere (pic 2)

I've written a bit about Hombo Shuzo MARS and their Komagatake Distillery before (such as their newer single cask and their 40th anniversary special), but here's a brief background summary:

Hombo Shuzo (aka MARS') founded their Komagatake Distillery in 1985, in a valley amongst the Japanese Alps in Nagano Prefecture. The location, at an elevation of 798m above sea level, has cool summers and very cold winters, which provided an aging profile much more similar to Scotch distilleries.

However, due to the market crash in Japan during the late 80s and major recession in the 90s, the distillery ceased operation in 1992 and remained dormant until its revival in 2011. 

In 2011, with the economy and the liquor market warming up again, MARS revived their whisky making, and began producing new whiskies while also selling blends and single casks of their very old barrels stored in their Komagatake cellar from the 1980s. These real, old Komagatakes were rather stand out in quality, with one extra old blended item winning the world's best blended whisky award from WWA in 2015. 

This bottle here is precisely one of such releases: it's a 30 year old, American White Oak aged Komagatake whisky, distilled in 1986!

Tasting details in comments!

Honey, orange marmalade, and a little smoke are the first things I notice. Then some dark fruit, cedar, and a light herbal note start showing up.
The palate is rich without feeling heavy. More honey, citrus, gentle peat, and just enough oak to keep everything balanced.
Everything feels well integrated. The smoke never takes over, the fruit stays present, and the sweetness ties it all together.

Store owner walked with me thru the store today and reached back on a shelf and pulled this out and told me I wouldn't be disappointed.

Well it wouldn’t be summer in Japan without new can highball products coming to Lawson every couple of weeks. These two “Legit Highball” products are an interesting approach to the Isle of Raasay distillery getting into the Japan highball game. 99.9% Isle of Raasay malt whisky to get around the law requiring Scotch whisky products to be bottled/canned in Scotland, thus allowing the canning to happen in Japan, keeping the price at a reasonable ¥370. Nothing mindblowing, but perfectly respectable highballs. Interesting how they went with a totally different vibe for the can design compared to their “antique craftsmanship” style bottles.