Tag Archives: Perfumed

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, An everyday dram, Let's celebrate!, Suntory - Hibiki

Suntory Hibiki 21yr – Absolute brilliance in a glass

Japan – 43%ABV – 700ml bottle – £103.40 | ¥13,700 – not available in the US and barely available anywhere other than Japan.

The Hibiki 21 year old was one of the biggest surprises for me in 2010.  This is not one I had gone out of my way to seek out.  Sure, I knew about it; read about and lusted after it but being that it was so hard to come by, I didn’t hold my breath on the chance that I may find a bottle.

So, if I read about it, learnt about and followed it with a drooling mouth, why-o-why was this such a surprise for me!?  Well, because one day it just showed up on my door step without me even knowing about it!  Seriously, when I opened the box to find a bottle of this from my friend Yoshi @ Suntory, I nearly wet myself.  Yoshi – a sincere thanks for this gift!

This whisky is a mix of malt & grain whiskies from the three different Suntory distilleries as well as a mixture of different cask types (American Oak, European Oak & Japanese Oak, etc…).  As with all whiskies, the age statement printed on the label represents the youngest whisky contained within the bottle.  There is some much older whisky in here too!

The Hibiki 21 has won three gold metals, three years in a row and has just won the title of “World’s Best Blended Whisky” in 2010 by the WWA.

Looks like I’m in for a treat here…

On the nose — Warmed car seat leather on a summer’s day.

Very perfumed, lovely.

Slight tones of engine oil which actually compliments the pipe tobacco notes I’m getting here – bringing back memories of afternoons with my Grandpa John and his house in Fairfield (Connecticut) – he loved his pipe (he loved his Scotch too).

Apricots, toasted walnuts, hazelnuts and burnt marshmallows.

Again, lovely nose.

On the mouth — Like drinking happiness.

Chocolates and jasmine tea – a good deal of jasmine actually.

Has a bit of a bite to it, too.

An apple orchard.

Vanilla bursts through and nuts follow closely behind like trustworthy sidekicks.

Finish — Like a body builder, the finish seems to grow in strength.

Gobs of vanilla, still nutty and the perfuminess comes through quite nicely.

In sum — This is one of the most balanced and delicious drams I’ve had this year.  I will be doing a 2010 “Year In Review” post and I’d expect this one to be way high up on the “best of 2010” list.  This can be both an everyday malt and a celebratory malt.

Other opinions —

Dr. Whisky seemed to love this.

Mark at Whisky Cast scored it a 96!

All You Need Is Love, Blind Tastings, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Rick’s Mystery Dram series – Week 9 of 10 – Sample #10

Whiskey sample number ten.  Another American whiskey sample from Rick.

As I mentioned in the 3rd post for this “Rick’s Mystery Dram” Series, I’ve decided to make this a wee bit more interesting by sending out a mystery dram to the correct guesser of the week’s mystery dram or, if there has been no correct guess, the sample goes to a commenter (randomly chosen).  Last week, “Matt L” won the mystery dram (again) and did so by guessing what the dram in question was.

Details on how to win a mystery dram sample (which will be Scotch or American whisk(e)y, your choice) are listed below, after the review.

Review time!

On the nose – Big, fat, thick spice with a side of rye bread and a cord of oak.

Very perfumed.  Like the cheap perfume on a girl you wish you hadn’t said hi to in the bar — sexy but over powering.

Some of the standard notes you’d find in bourbon:

Cinnamon.  Nutmeg.  Vanilla.

On the mouth – Everything just got a bit toasty here – that rye toast has just been browned; awaiting a pad of butter that does, in fact, arrive!

Grape soda (this is the third time I got grape soda notes in a bourbon).

Very easy to chew on but there does seem to be a fair amount of alcohol here (45-50%ABV?).

Finish – The finish is interesting – I’m almost getting some great port wine notes coming back.  The overall length of the finish is medium and perfect.

In sum – This is a very comforting dram of whiskey.

Perfect for the summer time.

Watch the sun set and sip your glass empty – life is good.

The clues –

  • Getting notes of rye in the nose and in the tasting
  • Grape soda notes and, my guess, an ABV of 45-50%.
  • More grape notes in the finish – almost reminiscent of port wine.

JMSWS antes up!

For those who attempt to guess – each week I will be sending out one mystery dram (a small 5cl bottle) and the first person guesses correctly wins the dram.  Actually, if there are no correct guesses for the week then a winner will be chosen at random.  You win whether your right or not (like a weatherperson – right or not, s/he still has a job)!

So again, I will be awarding a free whisk(e)y sample every week to one lucky winner (whether you guess correctly or not).

How do I enter to win you ask?

Easy, comment on this post with what you think the mystery dram of the week may be.  It’s that simple.

I will let you choose the type of mystery dram — Scotch or American Whiskey (though that’s all you’ll know about it).  And if you’d like, you can send me your tasting notes and I’ll post them for my readers to guess at.  If you’d prefer the blind tasting to be between just you and me… that’s cool too.

For previous “Rick’s Mystery Dram” entries :

Here’s Mystery Dram #1 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage First Edition)

Here’s Mystery Dram #2 (which ended up being Parker’s Heritage Golden Anniversary)

Here’s Mystery Dram #3 (which ended up being Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2000 vintage, barrel # 234)

Here’s Mystery Dram #4 (which ended up being Tonala 4 year Anejo tequila)

Here’s Mystery Dram #5 (which ended up being Wild Turkey Russell’s Reserve, 10 year)

Here’s Mystery Dram #7 (remember, there was no #6 dram.  #7 ended up being Jefferson’s Presidential Select, 17 year, batch #3)

Here’s Mystery Dram #8 (#8 ended up being Sazerac Rye 18yr which, by the way, completely threw me off.  Not what I was expecting from a rye whiskey.  I liked it anyway.)

Here’s Mystery Dram #9 (#9 ended up being Thomas H. Handy Sazerac which, by the way, was correctly guessed by Matt L!!  Congrats Matt – great job!)