Hakushu 12 Year

Finally got the opportunity to try the Hakushu 12. I was very excited, but it quickly faded away adtwr my first sip. This is not a bad whiskey, as for me it reminded me of a Speyside scotch, but considering the current prices for the Hakushu and Yamazaki, there are better options. Today’s prices are about being selective, not anout the spirit. I was expecting a little more peat on the nose and palate, but for me, it was muted. A little fruity, more apples than orange. Overall, good

A gift from a visiting friend, this is my first experience with this distillery. Tasted neat from a NEAT tasting glass after a few moments rest. I've had this on a few occasions already and the bottle is about 2/3 full after this pour. It's been open for about a month. The pour is a very pale apple juice brassy color, painfully clear. The nose is all in on the apples with strong notes of sweet apple juice, tart apple skins, green apples, red delicious apples, green pears, slight lemon, lemongrass, slight grain and almost no ethanol note. This is very, very complex and also very dainty and delicate. After a while there's just the slightest hint of ash and an ephemeral note of something resembling mercurochrome. I'm loving this complexity while the whisky never becomes overpowering. Very impressive. On the palate this maintains its delicacy. There is a sweet blush of butter and honey up front that quickly dissolves into an assortment of orchard fruits, primarily Honeycrisp apple, green pears, green tea, and graham crackers. As the flavor begins to fade there's a nice transition to ginger, allspice and finally cracked pepper. The finish is moderate, fading cleanly to a lemony tartness with a bit of the bitter lemon pith left on the back of the tongue. I don't have a lot of experience with Japanese whisky. I've had Toki (not a fan), Nikka Grain (quite nice if ultimately a bit too reticent to hold my attention), Nikka From the Barrel (yes, please), Yamazaki 12 (I remember liking it but I don't remember specifics about it) and this. If this is typifies an excellent Japanese whisky, then I've done myself a disservice by not paying more attention to the category. Taken on its own this is a top tier distillate, full stop. I use a simple grading system based on bell curve distribution. Mass market quality product (Beam, JD, Woodford, Dewar's) will hover between 2 and 3. Truly good product emerges at 3.5 and above 4 are the stand-out products that offer unique tasting adventure balanced with a reachable price point. This is such a whisky. This is absolutely above average. Well above average, in fact.

Lovely pear and apple and the lightest of peat flavors. I enjoy this one just about equally on the dot to yamazaki 12.

This is a very interesting dram. Herbal and wonderful. Equally as good as Yamasaki but in a very different direction. While Yamasaki is full of butterscotch this is full of herbal goodness.

This bottle has been open less than two weeks. Initially unimpressive, it is now amazing! I’ll have to add real notes later. For now its restrained earthy peat, honey, orange peel, baking spices, dried fruit, delicious and fantastic!

Tastes like an unused japanese portapotty