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| Hello, that is certainly one of our (virtually) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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December 21, 2024
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5 Miyagikyo
and a Outstanding Bonus |
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Miyagikyo doesn’t fairly have the identical popularity as Yoichi, however we’ve already tasted some marvellous ones, even when there have been quite few lately, following a wave of releases between 2005 and 2015. As for immediately’s bonus, maintain on tight…
Nikka’s Miyagikyo Sendai (Nikka)
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Miyagikyo 9 yo 2002/2012 (62%, OB, refill butt, cask #101127, Warehouse #6, 517 bottles) 
Most likely a younger, extremely concentrated Miyagikyo. Color: golden. Nostril: think about a fruit salad drizzled with fir honey—apples, bananas, pears, pineapples, mangoes, and vanilla. The entire is sort of supremely easy, which on this case is much from a flaw. Water ought to nonetheless deliver out extra complexity. With water: few adjustments, although maybe extra kiwi and rhubarb, which add a Sauvignon Blanc-like rigidity. Malted barley and orange cake additionally be part of the combo. Mouth: little bitter candies, fruit liqueurs, ardour fruits, and lime. Once more, this unbelievable simplicity at excessive power. With water: nonetheless the simplicity of contemporary fruits with just a few English sweets. End: medium size, with related flavours. A contact of fir bud liqueur on the aftertaste and a touch of candy woodruff syrup. We like it. Feedback: a little bit fruity bomb, completely crafted in all its simplicity.
SGP:641 – 87 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 18 yo 1996/2014 (62%, OB, La Maison du Whisky, Gentle Peat, remade hogshead, cask #42439, Warehouse #18) 
Like Yoichi, Miyagikyo appears to have alternated between quite peaty variations and unpeated ones, the latter of which seem like within the majority. Color: gold. Nostril: an impressive arrival on the nostril, with citrus fruits, seaweed, ashes, camphor, and kumquats, adopted by a clearly evident nice white wine character. Consider a grand white Burgundy, for instance. Spectacular touches of honeysuckle, quince, and mirabelle plums, even evoking an awesome Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Splendid and extremely light. Three drops of diesel within the background, probably from the peat. With water: contemporary mastic, pencil eraser, carbon paper, cigar ash, and a really mild notice of moist canine. Mouth: distinctive, each taut and oily directly, with citrus peels, yuzu, a small smoked oyster (a Korean specialty), Sichuan pepper, and a tiny spicy contact… It’s excellent. With water: evokes outdated citrus- and herb-based liqueurs, although exhausting to pin down exactly. Gentle saline and mineral notes, chalk, clay, and as soon as once more a grand white Burgundy. End: medium size however with good construction. Citrus, mint, mild smoke, resins, and a contact of hydrocarbons on the finish. Feedback: we had already tasted some 1996, however not this cask. I discover this immensely good.
SGP:552 – 91 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 18 yo 1991/2009 ‘Whisky Stay Tokyo tenth Anniversary’ (54%, OB, sherry butt, cask #114675) 
With regards to first-fill sherry, our Japanese pals typically go for emphasis, even extra, although extra usually pays off, as we’ve seen with different well-known distilleries like Yamazaki and, in fact, Karuizawa. Color: golden bronze. Nostril: an outdated tin field packed to the brim with aged sultanas, then one other stuffed with figs and dried dates. This instantly brings to thoughts PX or cream sherry casks, although with class. Prunes, outdated Malvasia, and barely ‘dressed’ classic Cognac additionally come to thoughts. The dates finally take the lead. With water: a contact of potting soil, just a few mushrooms, and a few espresso grounds. Mouth: very wealthy, creamy, virtually candy, with muscat and certainly PX. Then aged plum eau-de-vie, liqueur-filled chocolate, spiced damsons, and people explosively juicy sultanas once more. It’s candy and indulgent. With water: a faint metallic edge emerges, together with some barely tart fruits (starfruit, physalis) and walnut liqueur. Inevitably harking back to sure Speyside whiskies closely influenced by sherry. End: lengthy, primarily on melted chocolate and prunes. Feedback: I quite suspect this got here from a real solera butt, although I might be mistaken. What’s usually known as a “sherry monster” in whisky parlance.
SGP:751 – 88 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 23 yo 1988/2011 (57%, OB, cask #92414, Warehouse #55)
It appears they’ve at the least fifty-five warehouses at Miyagikyo, until that is for the entire of Nikka. Color: gold. Nostril: shares sure traits with the 1991, however with way more class—delicate herbs, flowers like jasmine and wisteria, then certainly sultanas and classic Cognac with a touch of peach liqueur. There’s additionally a contact of Iberian ham, plum wine, Corinth raisins, cinchona, and hints of juniper. A really, very beautiful nostril. With water: all the pieces honeyed comes ahead, with a hint of rum. Mouth: a great deal of spices—pepper, black tea tannins, dried mandarin peels (chen-pi), then honey, maple syrup, and a contact of molasses. Loads of rancio, with notes of Maury and Rivesaltes. It actually doesn’t maintain again this time. With water: it appears we’ve tamed it. Very charming sweet-savoury and bittersweet qualities emerge—prunes, raisins, ham, marzipan, black tea… End: lengthy, extra chocolatey and spiced. There’s a little bit notice of aged juniper and bitter almond liqueur, which we discover pleasant. Feedback: an outdated Miyagikyo with a lot to say in case you give it time. Including water is, in fact, beneficial however should be accomplished sparingly to keep away from drying it out all of a sudden.
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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Miyagikyo 17 yo 1987/2005 (62%, OB, sherry cask, cask #89698, Warehouse #4)
One other sherry, which we think about to be fairly pronounced as soon as once more. Color: espresso. Nostril: we’re absolutely within the model of an awesome Speyside whisky from a wonderful first-fill sherry cask—be it from Craigellachie, Dufftown, or Ballindalloch. In different phrases, there’s no distinctly “Japanese” character right here, however quite an abundance of espresso liqueur, Corinth raisins, pipe tobacco, prunes, old-school Armagnac, darkish chocolate, very darkish honey, candied sugar, with a touch of mint and soy sauce. With water: roasted nuts, a percolator in full swing, chocolate cake contemporary from the oven, and plum tart, additionally simply out of the oven. Mouth: an enormous, excessive sherry profile, peppery and closely marked by darkish chocolate. A bit tough in cask power type—it positively wants water. With water: a contact of broth, lemon juice, thyme, barely burnt walnuts, and loads of bitter chocolate. End: very lengthy, with black tea, espresso espresso, and bitter chocolate. It takes no prisoners. Roasted pecans and darkish tobacco linger within the aftertaste. Feedback: one would possibly say that when a Japanese distiller labels one thing “sherry,” they really imply it. In any case, this bottling is ideal, regardless of—or maybe due to—its barely extreme nature.
SGP:652 – 90 factors. |
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And now, blow your trumpets, Christmas angels…
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Karuizawa 50 yo 1965+1972/2024 ‘The Marriage’ (54.8%, The Whisky Alternate Cupboard, 50 bottles)
80% 1965 and 20% 1972, married for 2 years. Bought as an NFT however thank heavens it’s not a ‘mini-NFT’ we’re swirling within the tulip glass. A short recap for newcomers: certainly one of whisky’s biggest mysteries stays why the official Karuizawas from house owners Mercian/Kirin, or the pure malts they produced within the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties (8 – 10 – 12 – 15 – 17 – 21 yo), remained quite modest in each high quality and popularity, regardless of incomes worldwide medals (which, let’s face it, everybody has). In Europe, at the least, nobody was significantly in case you noticed a bottle right here or there at a competition. Karui…what? Then, discerning fanatics unearthed far superior single casks in Japan (kudos to our good friend Bert Vuik!), shared them, and shortly, ‘savvy traders’ started taking discover, buying remaining shares from the now-closed distillery. The bigger distributors in London, Paris, and elsewhere began releasing the primary ‘trendy’ Karuizawas, the overwhelming majority of outstanding high quality. Costs skyrocketed, and the remainder is historical past. Extra not too long ago, a brand new Karuizawa distillery has been established, although their first whisky isn’t anticipated till the 2030s. Let’s savour this new 50-year-old… Color: amber. Nostril: from the primary whiff, we encounter a reasonably traditional outdated Armagnac profile, with prunes taking the lead. However that doesn’t final lengthy, as malt, espresso, mint, and tar quickly assert themselves, adopted by the scent of outdated books discovered within the attic and a basket brimming with dried fruits—dates and figs particularly. In the end, it begins to resemble a Springbank LB ex-sherry distilled round 1965–1966 (what a coincidence!) … and maybe a contact of M. from these years too. A grand classic impact that appears to have travelled from Scotland all the way in which to Japan. With water: peach jam enters the fray, lending a real high quality of a sort of mix of outdated ‘M’ (Golden Promise) and outdated folle blanche armagnac. A faintly earthy/sulphury edge, typical of Karuizawa ex-sherry, emerges subsequent. However we’re speaking good sulphur, ala M. from Dufftown. Menthol hovers within the background. Mouth (neat): immensely wealthy, instantly targeted on dried fruits and pipe tobacco. Dates, figs, pears, raisins, and certainly prunes, alongside toffee, hints of historical absinthe and verbena, and more and more minty tones of all kinds intertwined with liquorice and really outdated pu-ehr tea. These virtually lend a faintly refreshing high quality. With water: a deeply honeyed, fruity tobacco (suppose orange marmalade) claims dominance over the fragrant panorama. Echoes of an awfully outdated sherry V.O.R.S. reappear. End: splendidly tertiary, brimming with notes of leather-based, beautiful pepper, and tobacco. Lingering peppered orange marmalade and ultra-dark chocolate take centre stage within the aftertaste. Although the end is notably woody, right here that’s removed from a flaw, quite the opposite. One’s thoughts drifts again to a venerable outdated armagnac. Feedback: the one slight pity is that it was completely as anticipated—totally magical.
SGP:662 – 93 factors.
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(Large due to the Golden Promise bar in Paris and to Whisky Journal & Tremendous Spirits)
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