Is Yamazaki the best?
With the influx of all sorts of Japanese whisky in the market, how do you decide which is the best choice that combines both taste and value for money?
We take a look at the 4 major brands of Jap whiskies in the market, look for their distinctive characteristics and hopefully make your decision much easier!
Yamazaki
Dipping your toes into the whole Jap whisky trend
Easily the most well known of all the Japanese whisky brands, and rightly so, Yamazaki holds the distinction of being the very first distillery in Japan. With a US$10million expansion in 2013 based on sales forecasting for the next 20 years, it is safe to say that Yamazaki will be front and centre for the Jap Whisky wave.
Common descriptions for the Yamazaki range are “delicate and elegant”, “smooth and light”, and the “perfect gateway scotch”.
New Stills at Yamazaki Distillery ( nonjatta.com)
The typical expressions that can be found are the Yamazaki 12 and the Yamazaki 18.
Yamazaki 12
Sweet vanilla and fruity notes derived from white oak casks are accented with fine aromas of spirits aged in sherry and Japanese oak casks. (tasting note source)
Color: Amber
Aroma: Flower/fruit — peach, ripe persimmon, orange marmalade
Grain — butter, custard cream
Cask — toffee, coconut, vanilla, incense, and clovesTaste: Full-bodied sweetness and rich flavor
Finish: Sweet vanilla, oaky with a pleasant lingering aftertaste
Type: Medium body
For an alternate review on the Yamazaki 12, check out Jason’s Scotch Reviews.
The Yamazaki 12 is likely to appear to those used to the lighter taste of Glenmorangie 10 or the Deanston 12. It goes well on its own, on the rocks or even in a highball cocktail.
Yamazaki 18
Characteristic sweetness of dried fruits and aromatic chocolate that comes from sherry casks intermingled with a profoundly mature flavor that comes from aging the spirits over a long time in Japanese oak casks (tasting note source).
Color: Red amber
Aroma: Flower/fruit — raisin, strawberry jam, apricot, dried persimmon
Grain — toast
Cask — bitter chocolate, coffee, baked puddingTaste Sweet & sour, slightly bitter, deep and spicyFinish: Ripe fruit, sweet & sour, with a long-lasting aftertaste
Type: Full body
For an alternative review of the Yamazaki 18, check out nyloveswhisky.
With its sherry base, the Yamazaki 18 is likely to appeal to many Macallan diehards. Give it a go for something with a milder sherry taste, with more complexity towards the end.
Excited? Check out the detailed description on our site. Yamazaki 18
Hakushu
Smoke gets in your eyes
First things first, instead of pronouncing it “Ha-ku-shu”, it’s actually “HAK-SHOO”, kind of like a sneeze.
Hakushu is known as the smokier cousin of Japanese whisky. The lightly peated dram is created through the combination of an unpeated Hakushu and a highly peated Hakushu to ensure better consistency for each bottle. So, we could, theoretically, see some smoke monsters similar to the Islay bottles, if Hakushu decides to release them.
The malt whiskies born there are simultaneously blessed with a very special microclimate, luxurious forests, and water offering a rare softness and purity, only made possible by filtration of rain and snow through thousand-year-old granite rocks. Furthermore, because of its high altitude, distillation is at a lower pressure, which creates a lighter whisky. It is thus no wonder that Hakushu is known as a “green and fresh” whisky, praised by the most curious whisky connoisseurs and lovers of gastronomy. Its crisp and vibrant feel, unique in a single malt, enlivens and liberates one’s senses.
Another random fact is that some of Hakushu’s whisky is filtered by passing it through bamboo charcoal after maturation. The locals believe that this purifies the whisky, brings prosperity and keeps evil forces away (whiskyforeveryone).
The Hakushu range is often described as a splendid bottling with “rich fruity aroma combined with soft smoke”, from the “forest distillery”. Similar to the Yamazaki range, the common bottlings are the Hakushu 12 and the Hakushu 18.
Hakushu 12 — green with herbal notes (tasting note source)
Color Pure gold.Aroma Caramelised oranges with hints of liquorice and smoke. With water the smoke aromas expand.Taste Warm caramel with liquorice, ripe fruit flavours and big waves of smoke.Finish Dry finish, with smoke and caramel lingering in the mouth.
For a detailed review on the Hakushu 12, check out nyloveswhisky where it evokes the sense that it should be savoured in the middle of a forest.
Fans of the Bunnahabhain 12 and the Bowmore 12 will enjoy the taste of the Hakushu 12 as it has similar elements with a more grassy tinge.
Want to check out more? See our detailed description and list of awards for the Hakushu 12 here.
Hakushu 18 — silky with floral notes (tasting note source)
Color Deep gold.Aroma Ripe pear, dried mint, oregano, hint of smoke.Taste Jasmine, mango, quince, menthol.Finish Long, pleasantly smoky with a hint of bitterness
“Termed by The Whisky Exchange as a ‘massive step up in quality’ from its younger brother, the Hakushu 12, the Hakushu 18 is an extremely gentle yet alluring whisky from the Hakushu distillery which is known for their fruitier, gentler drams.” (sgwhisky.com).
Although it is often compared to its counterparts in Islay, we feel that the Hakushu 18 has a gentle quality and so die-hard peat monsters would not immediately fall in love with it. The closest would be the Bunnahabhain 18, which is my all time favorite ☺
Hibiki
The “most Japanese” of the the product line that tastes good with everything.
Hibiki, meaning resonance in Japanese, speaks to the soul of all whisky lovers from the scotch noob to the connoisseur. More than 30 types of whiskies in various casks, including Mizunara, a rare Japanese oak, combine to create an exceedingly complex and smooth whisky.
To illustrate their point, Hibiki built the Harmony Bar, adding sensors to the drinking glass to create an interactive sensory experience.
As homage to the whisky’s Japanese heritage, the bottle has 24 facets for the 24 months in the traditional Japanese calendar.
The common bottlings in the market are the Hibiki 12 and Hibiki 17.
Hibiki 12 — Exuberant, a dazzling roundness (tasting note source)
Color Shiny amberAroma Pineapple, plum, raspberry, honey, hibiscusTaste Banana, pomegranate, custard, pink pepperFinish Sweet, sour and complex
Described as a “Must Have” by Scotch Noob, as he ordered a bottle in the middle of writing the review. It works well in cocktails, highballs, or just straight.
We agree that the Hibiki 12 is a nice introduction to the brand. However, once people have tasted the Hibiki 17, it is hard to return to the Hibiki 12.
Hibiki 17 — an elusive quality to the taste and finish that is hard to pin down (tasting note source)
Color Pale goldAroma Delicate and complex aroma of tropical fruit and caramel. Rose, peach, melon, hint of citrus.Taste Quite complex and slow to evolve, with pine resin sweetness, vanilla and toffee. Some salty hints as it opens. Develops with water or ice.Finish Appears to finish quite quickly, then reappears to delight and perplex. Sweet, elegant, fruity, a sour citrus aftertaste.
As described by Jason’s Scotch Reviews, there is no “graininess or rounded flavors that seem to blur the flavors” as is typical of high end Scotch whisky blends like the Johnnie Walker Gold and Blue labels. It tastes like a single malt and a very very fine one at that.
Want to check out more? See our detailed description and list of awards for the Hibiki 17 here.
