Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve

light straw color. No real legs, not a surprise given that it's NAS. lovely candy notes on the nose, then I'm picking up some dried fruit. like candy on the tongue. Surprisingly spicy for a 40% ABV. relatively short finish. Definitely like this one & would put it in my collection.

Sherry for days, a bit of sweet oak, strawberry, fruit jellies (sweeter, lighter smell than jams), cherry, and a bit of acetone define the nose. The taste is smooth and impressive for a NAS whiskey -- honey-coated almonds, a bit of Christmas season spices, cherry, and some caramel from the oak, almost like a slightly diluted bourbon flavor. The finish is well-integrated and just pleasant. I get sherry again, a bit of creaminess to balance the tartness, a quite prominent cherry, again a bourbon-like element (spice, mint, a touch of bitterness as if the cherry pits are in there too), and a final wisp of raspberry flavor as the long finish fades to black. OK, the world has been going a bit mad for Japanese whiskies for a few years now. I even remember the turning point in the DC area. Sometime back in 2014, I saw Yamazaki 12 on the shelf for $90, but opted for Hakushu 12 at $70, thinking to myself that was already a high price to pay for a 12-year whiskey. By the time I went back a few months later, both were $100. By the time I went back a year later, they weren't even on the shelf anymore. I did enjoy a few Yamazaki 12 drams at Big in Japan bar in Montreal in 2015, which was one of the cooler bars I'd been in at the time (the décor consisted of dozens of bottles of 12 and other Japanese expressions hanging from the ceiling, and patrons could buy a personal bottle that would hang up there, but would be their exclusive bottle to enjoy whenever they returned). Out of curiosity I looked at the bar's menu again this week, and it didn't even list Yamazaki 12 as an option anymore, only Suntory Toki. It may be 10-12 years until Japanese production catches up to this market so that we can once again enjoy their whiskies at reasonable cost and with reasonable availability. Such is life. Leaving that long-winded digression behind, I personally wouldn't bite the bullet and pay the $100+ that this whiskey costs (at least according to Wine Searcher). That being said, it's a worthy successor to the 12, and if I'd tasted it blind I probably would have guessed it was a 15-year old whiskey. It outshines many Highland or Speyside malts in the $60-80 range. Thanks to Davie Warner for the sample!

Another 200ml bottle shared by my old friend living in Japan, designed for the native market, with almost no English on the label. Nose: Delicate, tart kiwi (tell-tale mizunara oak), sweet Dijon mustard, gingerbread with a seam of lemon zest throughout. Sadly lacks the rosewater note I recall from the 12 year bottling. Palate: Zesty, baking spices arrive first, transitions through vanilla to a floral soapiness. Finish: Full and bittersweet, hint of pickled ginger with a distant light waft of charcoal lingering longest. To my memory, not as enjoyable as the 12, but still seething with quality... Dry glass: hemp rope.