Tastes

⌚️: (First opening. Let sit for about 5 minutes.) 👀: Intense dark copper, evokes mysterious emotions, makes you wonder what's in that Glencairn, legs are extremely thin and doesn't really stick to the walls when agitated; 👃: Very thick like fog upon first sniff, sweet banana bread, luscious caramel, and vanilla intertwined with toffee, smells like candy; 👅: The heat you taste at the beginning is immediately quenched by the almost overpowering sweetness that's at the outset, banana and toffee and butterscotch hit you like a bomb, not much detectable rye on my end, nothing but sweet; 🏁: This is one beautiful dream dram! Gotta give love to this one!! Sweetness pervades throughout and there isn't much evidence that this is 136.5 proof at all, no heat, you can sip this for days and not realize you're done, top shelf for me ❤️

⌚️: Let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: Rather dark brown, just like I remember; 👃: Medicinal whiff, herbal and green, touch of butterscotch somewhere in there; 👅: Very sweet, sugary; not a lot of heat, and that's perfect for this proof since the sweetness is what really stands out; 🏁: There isn't really a lingering finish here. I haven't had this since 2019 when I was not sipping; this is a great daily but even better for special occasions like today for Thanksgiving 2024!

⏱️: First uncorking. Let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: Dull sheen, like unfinished metal, has some bubbles, can't tell if there are legs because I'm drinking from a plastic cup; 👃: Can't detect much smoke from the cup but you can smell it out the bottle, mostly fragrant berries and a little stonefruit; 👅: Ahh...the smoke is definitely evident here, hits you with its best shot like a boxer, fruits and toffee, oaky, can't taste it off the palate but at the finish; 🏁: Taste thankfully doesn't linger too much, finish is short, but the smoke does make you feel like Puff The Magic Dragon because it comes out your nose 👃

⌚️: Let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: Light flecks of hay mixed in with mature wheat, sunset tonight, walls sticking to the sides of the glencairn; 👃: Malty scents typical of Japanese whiskey or scotch, pineapple, a little cherry, sherry influences; 👅: Tartness at the outset gives way to tender velvety soft fruit notes, more cherries and stone fruit, very simplistic taste with not much complexity; 🏁: Short linger is a pleasant one, soft notes stick with you though, reminds me of a harsh Hibiki 🤨, nothing special but hey it’s Akashi!

First uncorking. 🍾 Let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: Medium copper, looks viscous and oily at first glance, legs are thick indicating the high proof; 👃: Fruit basket, soft baking spices, butterscotch for sure, vanilla and cherry, not much hint of the alcohol at all; 👅: Caramel and cotton candy, luscious fruits, sweet honey, butterscotch once again, toffee; 🏁: Soft and sweet finish, almost tastes like you just finished a caramel candy, you're taken to bourbon heaven with this one, no hint of alcohol whatsoever, this deserves more than 5 stars!

🍾 Uncorking. 👀: Light amber notes with sunset in the background; legs; 👃: Smells a bit of acetone at the outset, which gives way to kettle popcorn and cherry pie, grape laffy taffy; 😜: Immediate corn and ethanol, some Ghirardelli dark chocolate 72%, whoa this shit burns, strong alcohol at the ending, melted caramel; 🏁: Lingers quite a bit also, might be better off diluted a bit, finish is "corny."