TamesShanahan
Tenjaku Japanese Whisky
Blended — Japan
Reviewed
November 2, 2022 (edited November 22, 2022)
This well constructed (maybe because it tastes balanced), high value-to-price Japanese whiskey with no age statement boasts a pleasantly perfumey, old-and-new wood character with an oddly pleasant, slightly medicinal wood alcohol overtone that reminds me of Macallan Edition 4. (Maybe it's Edition 3, because it's hard to remember which is which. I've had 3, 4 and possibly number 1.)
It doesn't bother me that the aromas and flavors aren't complex. I don't have the sensory apparatus nuances like "hint of Scottish whimsy and berry-mincemeat fruit pie," only strong (bold and overpowering, even) aromas and tastes.
Macallan Editions compare favorably against this Japanese whiskey -- a huge compliment to the distiller, since it runs only about $35 in Michigan vs. over $105 (yes, an oddly specific price, but it's what I remember being quoted by the store owner) for any Macallan Edition as of Fall, 2021.
Overall I've had only good experiences with whiskey from Japan!
(Taster's word to the wise: you should try the vast landscape of sakis, because the overly strong, sense-blasting dreck they sell here for sake is such a poor imitation, it may be only a toenail off the skeleton of the huge range that exists!)
Hibiki's Toki is on my potential "daily drinkers" list.
Hibiki Japanese Harmony is of course the best under $85-100 here, and three bottles later I stand by that statement with boots firmly planted in the mud, or earth, or even in a river! I've been told the 21-year is incredibly tasty, complex and amazing in every way.
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