PBMichiganWolverine
Kaiyō Japanese Mizunara Oak Cask Strength
Blended Malt — Japan
Reviewed
May 2, 2019 (edited December 9, 2020)
I feel as if this one is the Arya Stark of the whiskey world. You don’t expect much from it...but delivers in spades. Well, let’s see...I can easily picture Macallan as the Night King. Walking tall, like he’s god gift to mankind. Strutting around like he’s all that and a bag of chips. Sansa is like Glenfiddich. We’ve all heard of her. She’s amazing to look at in those posters hanging around the NYC Subway. She’s plastered everywhere in magazines. But, when it comes time to test what you’re made of, she’s probably in the cellar hiding out, waiting till the coast clears. Highland Park...that’s gotta be Euron Greyjoy. Arrogant. Putting on a show like he’s some Norse-god Thor like conquering Viking. But, let’s face it...he just wants to be with a demented murderous sexy sherry cask named Cersei. So...back to this Arya. This one is an underrated and understated Japanese malt, lost between the hype of Yamazaki and Hibiki. It’s potent, but beautiful in every sense of the word. Floral nose, but not too much...just enough oak in there to let you know there’s a bit of oomph. Taste of sandalwood (ther’es the mizunara ), dark cherries. Finish is hot. Lingers for a while. If only that finish were a bit smoother. Probably needs a few more years in the barrel. Nonetheless, a really good true Japanese malt (not like those made in UK, US, and CA, only to be aged in Japan). Thanks to my buddy @LeeEvolved for a generous pour.
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@PBMichiganWolverine Similar here - GoT and Brexit. GoT airs a day later here than in the US so most people are tuned in the practice of avoiding spoilers from US entertainment news feeds and social media. Folks are typically very good about checking have you caught up, but it gets harder the longer you fall behind. A hermit-like existence is the only solution!
@1901 how do you avoid it? The topic of most conversations start off either as 1) GoT, or 2) Trump related. And the latter can get too heated
@PBMichiganWolverine i have not yet started season 8, preferring to try and back them up for a binge later on. It’s difficult, but so far I have been avoiding work lunch-break conversations and social media apps. I have to give it up as a futile attempt if I must steer away from the Distiller app too. Nothing is worth that :)
@Rick_M 18 years from now...I might actually enjoy that. 😀
@PBMichiganWolverine - yes, and 18 years from now some of them may be giving you a good slap. :)
@The_Rev funny! You know, i have a feeling 9 months from now, there’s going to be thousands of girls born that’ll be named Arya, Lyanna, or Melisandre
@Scott_E unfortunately, I’m not good in writing tasting notes. But pretty good in telling stories
You had me at Arya. What do we say to the god of teetotaling? NOT TODAY.
@PBMichiganWolverine I tried to avert my eyes. No worries. I did skip down to the actual tasting comments. Lol.
Nice review. Will have to crack my sample open in the next week or two as all these good reviews have me hanging out to try it :-)
Oh no. I think I just ruined it for @Scott_E , who’s still on season 5. Dude...look away. Don’t read this.
@PBMichiganWolverine ahh that makes sense!
@LeeEvolved yeah, I definitely liked this one better than the regular Kaiyo Mizunara. Admittedly, that had a better nose, but this was all about that balance in the palette. My prediction: Tyrion. The Edradour of the whisky world. Smallest of the lot, but has a cult following.
I don’t know @PBMichiganWolverine - I think one is slightly better than it’s watered down brother. I loved the cinnamon spice all through this one. Tropical fruit, sandalwood and cinnamon just worked for me. My review is coming soon as I’m down to the last 5-6oz of this bottle. I’m glad you enjoyed it, great and entertaining review, too. I guess Samwell Tarley is the GlenDronach- especially when he’s the one sitting on the throne when the dust finally settles (my prediction, lol).
@dubz480 tricky is the word I was looking for. Since it’s a Japanese malt, I expected a smoother silky finish. Was hot and rough, like American Craft whiskey
I assume like Arya the finish may have been rough but it was one hell of a finish! HaHa! Great, descriptive review as always!