Suntory AO World Whisky

The Beam-Suntory company has grown so big, that they own whisk(e)y everywhere. Proof of that, is this worldwide blend, made from whiskies from the top 5 countries that produce this marvelous spirit: Scotland, Ireland, Usa, Japan and Canada. There is a little bit of everything in here, and i really did not know what to expect, but i got something i really like: peat. "AO" means blue in Japanese, and it makes sense for this whisky to have that name, since there is nothing more global in planet earth than water, and also the word "whisky" comes from the gaelic Uisge-Beatha, which means "water of life". Bottled at 43%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose, a peaty little fellow. Prunes, iodine, sea. Peat and sawdust. Sea foam and hazelnut. Lovely. After a first sip, the aroma changed into a smokey, salty chocolate. Hints of Maize. On the palate, it was very sweet, a Vanilla explosion. Super creamy and floral, maize and vanilla from grain whiskies. There is definitively a bourbon profile here. Vanilla cream, fondant. Aftertaste was mildly peated. Sawdust, tobacco, barbecue. Very ashy. Iodine, pepper and salt. Metallic notes like iron. Feels like a Bowmore (which is owned by Suntory). Overall, this was a surprise dram for me. I didn't expect it to be this good and enjoyable, since the whisky profiles from the different countries used are somehow disonant if you taste them one by one. A good offering, my score for it is 84 over 100.

Nose: Floral oaky sweetness. A very faint earthy smoke. Buttery Irish like barrel tannin. Apple Vinegar ( but less acid funk), overall very light with slight baking spice. Palate: I taste a good bit of Irish type notes. Same light buttery Christmas cookie and baking spice. The medium dark floral bitterness is present as well. There is some oaky barrel sweetness but it’s faint to me. It’s delicate light and pretty. Finish: Slightly dry and medium in length (sticks around longer than expected. I’m left with a a barrel astringency and floral bitterness. A light vanilla and floral sweetness present. Bitter melon fruit towards the end