Tastes

Ye olde Glenfiddich fruit meets a little leathery spice. Spiced applesauce on the way down... smooth and calm sailing.

Fig makes an appearance early on. The body adds a spice element to the usual Glenfiddich fruit profile. It felt a bit dry on the finish, not a bad length. A bit overpriced.

This is the Mortlach for the patient. Singly so, it's spicy. There's an undercurrent of that Mortlach Christmas mince, but this one was a bit heavy handed on the spice. Strangely, as it airs, it mellows out and settles into a fine peppery fruit. Long finish.

If you could bottle Christmas mince pie, this would be it. Oak forward, but the body is pure sherry bliss. Didn't get enough of a sample to try it with any water, but even without, it's quite smooth and delicious.

Someone set SoCal on fire again. Gasoline, burnt wood, and a burning See's Candies shop. In your mouth, it expresses itself as a fine chocolate chili mole sauce... quickly finishing out, you realize that someone had been cooking bacon in it. Weird. Kinda likable because it's weird.

The short version of my notes – "Islay Lite". The long version... wafting from my careful pour were hints of bandages and smoke. Sipping it yielded sweetness, peat, almost a spiced rum character. Great smooth finish, long and pleasant, well-balanced and well-rounded. Excellent! If you find Islay scotches to be too much, this is probably just right.

Carefully opening my now-hard-to-replace bottle (2013 prices...) and pouring a careful dram... the scent of oak and dried fruit greets me. It goes in slightly sweet, slightly spicy, betraying the sherry casking. Succinct finish, nothing oily, and very polite. Well-rounded, always mellow, never harsh. Increasingly pricy worldwide... even at Narita (officially ¥25000).

Oak, fruit... stone fruit? Plum... slightly sweet, almost rum-like. Zesty medium finish. Solid for a 12, not particularly a good buy at its often inflated prices these days.

It's kinda herbal, maybe a little fruit, but herbal. It's a bit sweet and oily, malty, maybe a little sherry character, but... the Yoichi in it makes itself known. It's got that Yoichi funkiness in it. Not a terribly distinct finish. It's pleasant enough, and Nikka is a lot easier to find than any of the three Suntory brands. Give it a try.

A beautiful scent of plum and honey with a little oak greet you. As you taste it, an undercurrent of oak with malt and fruit tart makes itself known. Finishing up is a bright extension of the body, then fading away gently. Just drink this any way you can. Visit Osaka if you have to.