Hakushu Peated Spanish Oak Kogei Collection

Hakushu Peated Spanish Oak Kogei Collection

Official bottling
Single malt - West Honshu
Amber
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, roast beef, sea salt, damson jam, strawberries, artificial grape flavour, chocolate, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, tingly, thickens. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Peat, smoke, honey, strawberries, sea salt, artificial grape flavour, chocolate, pencil erasers, hints of tyre rubber. 
Finish: Medium. Peat, smoke, pencil erasers, roast beef, artificial grape flavour, peanuts. 

Comments: 

Gently peated, fruity (with a flavour of Fanta Grape), and quite meaty. I haven’t had a Hakushu for a while, theyre not easy to come by in this part of the world. This one was very good indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Hakushu 18yo

Hakushu 18yo

Official bottling
Single malt - West Honshu
Copper
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: White grapes, sultanas, pine needles, tinned peaches, honeydew melons. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, cool, slightly watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Pine needles, white grapes, birch wood, tinned peaches, autumn leaves, hints of lemon zest. 
Finish: Short. White grapes, green tea, marmalade, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

An old Hakushu expression, now discontinued. I missed it the first time around, and was lucky to find some again. It's characteristically herbal, alpine even, allied with lots of fruit notes. Perhaps a bit understrength - I would have appreciated a higher ABV. But a real treat even so.

Verdict:

I like this.

Hakushu Sherry Cask 2012

Hakushu Sherry Cask 2012

Official bottling
Single malt - West Honshu
Mahogany
48% ABV
Dram

Nose: Butterscotch, caramel, red grapes, milk, kiwi fruit, hints of strawberry jam.
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, airy, slightly watery around the edges.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Brown paper, kiwi fruit, strawberry jam, lohanguo, blueberries, hints of red grapes.
Finish: Medium. Brown paper, caramel, red grapes, blueberries.

Comments:

A predecessor to that famous Yamazaki Sherry Cask, and if I may say so, much better. This is jammy and sweet, laden with fruit, but with a very pleasant herbal note that I couldn't place at first. Then it hit me. Lohanguo (Siraitia grosvenorii in Latin, no English common name), a fruit which my mother used to boil up into sweet refreshing herbal tea! Delicious, and brings back so many memories too.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

SMWS 120.7 (Hakushu 14 yo 1999/2014)

SMWS 120.7 (Hakushu 14 yo 1999/2014)

2014, SMWS 
Single malt - West Honshu
Mahogany, tinge of purple
55.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Red grapes, tobacco leaf, red wine, raisin liqueur, brown paper, prunes, raisin fudge. With water, sweeter, Pedro Ximenez wine, raisins, orange peel.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, turns slippery, watery around the edges.
Tasting: Sweet. Raisin fudge, butterscotch, tobacco leaf, red grapes, prunes, dark chocolate, blackcurrants. With water, bitter, brown paper, burnt oranges, liquorice.
Finish: Long. Sweet, raisins, prunes, dark chocolate, brown paper.

Comments:

Hakushu, aged in a first fill sherry cask. I like sherried whiskies where there's a lot of fruit and complexity, this one has it in spades. Tastes like Pedro Ximenez raisiny sherry, but loaded with additional chocolatey, toasty notes. Upon addition of water, it changes character, turning bitter with fragrant burnt notes and perhaps something even liquoricey. Brilliant whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve

Official bottling 
Single malt - West Honshu
Gold, tinge of green
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cucumber, mint, leather, lemon zest, pomeloes, hints of grass.
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, turns to water.
Tasting: Sour salty. Mint, cucumber, grapefruit, orange peel, leather, grass, hints of lemon.
Finish: Short. Salted plums, lemon zest, cucumber, grapefruit.

Comments:

Apparently blended from whiskies not less than 8 years old. So, very young, but quite flavourful nevertheless. It tastes... green? Like a mojito, but with savoury leatheriness and plummy, sweet-salty notes. Very good.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Hakushu Bourbon Barrel

Hakushu Bourbon Barrel

Official bottling 
Single malt - West Honshu
Golden 
48% ABV
Dram

Nose: Banana, vanilla, lemon zest, orange blossom, wet stones, hints of brass polish. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, expands, turns watery. 
Tasting: Sweet. Lemon zest, vanilla, bananas, orange blossom, wet stones, brass polish. 
Finish: Medium. Orange blossom, bananas, wet stones. 

Comments: 

Minerally and slightly metallic. Long, sweet banana from the bourbon cask, but still quite wild. This is an odd whisky - it's one of the few I've encountered that tastes exactly like it smells.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 120.4 (Hakushu 18 yo 1990/2009)

SMWS 120.4 (Hakushu 18 yo 1990/2009)

2009, SMWS
Single malt - West Honshu
Dark amber
59.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peanuts, raisins, sherry, roast chicken, roast pork, cedar, hints of leather. With water, meatier, saltier.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, oily, astringent, slippery.
Tasting: Sweet. Cedar, peanuts, raisins, roast chicken, roast pork, plums, red wine. With water, meaty, takes on some element of raw, bloody beef.
Finish: Medium. Raisins, roast pork, plums.

Comments:

Sweet, sherried, and very meaty. There's a robustness to this whisky, something that brings to mind barbecue and ripping into dripping chunks of seared meat. Water accentuates this, removing the strong sandalwood, incense-y element, and bringing out something irony and bloody. Unusual, and very enjoyable.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Hakushu 12 yo

Hakushu 12 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - West Honshu
Straw gold
43.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Grass, butter, lemons, orange peel, seaweed, hints of peat.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, water, volatile.
Tasting: Salty bitter. Orange peel, lemons, caramel, hazelnuts, meringue, sea salt.
Finish: Short. Sweet, peaty, lemon zest.

Comments:

I'm not sure I get Japanese whisky... yet. Previously it seemed that Japanese whiskies married salty and sweet in a way that was quite obvious, in your face even, with the saltiness overlaying the sweetness, rather than the other way around (as with Scotch). This one, however, seems to be all salty, with just a few fragrant hints of fruit, fruit oils, and slightly sweet things.

Verdict:

I like this.