My take on Kirin Fuji Sanroku 50°

As I might have mentioned in one or the other of my posts so far, I am currently residing in Japan. This country has a thriving whisky scene, and in recent years Japanese whisky has become rather fashionable around the world, boosting the prices to almost astronomical levels. Frankly, I think that even here in Japan you can get a much better bang for your buck with many Scotch whiskies than with Japanese, but the prices are at least not as crazy as they are abroad. Now, as a resident of this country, my interest in Japanese whiskies is of course sparked, and I think I should give at least some of them a try - so this is what I'm gonna do in this and the following few posts. The first whisky to feature in this series is the Fuji Sanroku 50°, which is produced by the Gotemba distillery at the base of Mount Fuji, and belongs to the Kirin company.

Interim résumé: My take on ratings

I have tasted and written about 8 Scottish single malt whiskies so far, and I feel it is time again to take a breath and look back on the steps I have taken up to now on my whisky journey. Especially, I start to compare the impressions I get and what I write down to some of the countless whisky reviews that are out there already. Many reviewers give marks or ratings to the whiskies they try, based on different systems. One of the most common systems gives a number of points out of 100, with most whiskies ranging between 80 and 90 points. I thought about this a lot, but came to the conclusion that I won't go with that and don't give such marks to my whiskies.

My take on Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12 yo

Again I've been quiet for a while without any new posts, but the reason is not that I would not have any new whisky impressions that I'd like to share - rather I was travelling once more. Now I'm back home, have time to relax on a Friday evening, and want to write down my latest thoughts on my most recently opened bottle of Scotch whisky.

My understanding of the classification of whisky is based on the use of two fundamentally different types of wood casks for maturation: former bourbon casks, and ex-sherry casks. The use of peated malted barley gives another dimension (see, for example, my take on Laphroaig Quarter Cask), but that is a different story alltogether. The use of bourbon and sherry casks for modern Scotch whisky developed out of opportunity after World War II, because these casks were readily available and cheap. Since back then, however, expecially sherry has run out of fashion somehow, while the demand for sherry-matured whiskies is constantly growing. This imbalance prompted distilleries in the 1980s or 1990s to start looking elsewhere for used casks, and they started experimenting with all kinds of stuff, like different types of wine casks, whatever they could get their hands on. Today, finishing whiskies off with some exotic cask is a widespread technique among many Scottish distillers, in order to broaden the range of flavors in their portfolio.

My take on Lagavulin 16 yo

There are a few Single Malt Scotch Whiskies that are recognized as being "Classics", or that have a very well reputation amonst whisky drinkers. One such classic whisky, that is often highly praised also by many experts, is the Lagavulin 16 year old, which is the standard bottling of that distillery. Being an Islay whisky, this one filled the emptying slot on my whisky shelf when the filling level of the previously tasted Laphroaig Quarter Cask approached the bottle base. The Lagavulin has a similarly strong peat smoke element, but in addition also a sizable amount of sherry cask maturation involved, yielding a flavor profile that balances peat smoke and sherry sweetness. Furthermore, it is aged considerably longer, and of course the distillery style of Lagavulin has its own unique characteristics. Therefore, in my opinion it is a good continuation on my journey, giving me more perspective on the aspect of peated whiskies. Also, as it is one of the most well known malts, it can serve in the future as a nice benchmark that (almost) everybody in the whisky community can relate to, and it certainly is one of the malts that are said to be ones that "you absolutely have to try at least once".

My take on Benromach 10 yo

So far I've mostly engaged with standard bottlings of very well known and widely available whiskies. Now it's time to look beyond these highly visible malts, and try out one that is a bit more obscure. My choice for that is the Benromach 10 year old, which originates in the Speyside of Scotland, but is said to have more of a Highland character (a quick look on a map will tell you that the famous Speyside is actually part of the Highlands, but in whisky language the Speyside is a region of its own due to the sheer number of distilleries located there, and the distinctly different, more fruity character of most Speyside malts compared to the rest of the Highlands). On the container, the founding date of Benromach is given as 1898, but the distillery had a very interrupted history. A few years ago then, the then dormant Benromach distillery was actually bought by the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, renovated, and restarted. Although the modern core range of Benromach now seems to be very well available around the world, it still is one of the smallest Scottish distilleries in terms of production volume, which in my book qualifies for a non-mainstream malt.

My take on Glenfiddich 15 yo Solera Reserve

It's been a few weeks since my last post. The reason for that is that I was busy traveling, and I also brought something home from that travel, which will certainly feature in a later post on this blog. Stay tuned!  ;-)

Before my travel I summarized the experiences I made with my starting line-up, so by now I feel ready to dive deeper into the wide world of whiskies. And to get started with such an endeavor, once more, Glenfiddich provides me with a solid entry that is reasonably priced. After the basic ensemble featuring a no-age-statement whisky, a 10 year old, and two 12 year olds, I wanted to venture a little bit further into the direction of older whiskies, and the next step in the Glenfiddich line-up is the 15 year old. Since older whiskies are in general also more expensive to buy, especially a beginner has to be a bit more careful, but the 15 yo Glenfiddich cost me actually still less than the Laphroaig Quarter Cask, or the Macallan 12 yo. Therefore, I could buy it at relatively low risk, and it makes for a nice direct comparison with the Glenfiddich 12 yo, in order to figure out what whiskies might gain from being that bit older.

Experiment: Whiskies side by side

With my starting line-up complete, it makes for an interesting experiment to smell and taste two different whiskies side by side. One thing you notice when working your way through a bottle of whisky is that it does not give you the same experience (in terms of smell and taste) every time. In fact, one thing I think is a fact, is that whisky starts to oxidize in the bottle, once the filling level goes down and air enters the bottle in greater amounts. This changes the aromas coming from the liquid noticably. However, I also noticed that from day to day within certain limits I get different impressions off a dram, and these seem at first to be random instead of following a clear trend as that due to oxidization. I attribute this to my personal "form of the day", meaning that my environment, my mood, what I previously had to eat or drink, or possibly medication I took, all have an effect on my senses of smell and taste and thus on how I perceive a whisky.

This led me to the following experiment, which I think is a quite educational one. I am going to smell and taste two whiskies of different style side by side, and compare what I experience to what I wrote down when focusing only on a single one.

Interim résumé: My starting line-up

I feel, by now it is time to take a little break and summarize the first steps I took on my whisky journey. Before setting out, I did some research and decided which bottles I would buy in the beginning - and in hindsight I think it was no mistake to do it the way I did it. I wanted to cover what I perceive as the cornerstones of the character of Scotch whisky, with standard bottles that are easily availabe and more on the inexpensive side. My choices turned out to be:

Glenfiddich 12 yo: Probably the most popular of all Scotch single malt whiskies, and the natural starting point for thousands of people who set out on their own whisky journey. This single malt is one of the cheapest out there, and so might also be a good option for people who are interested, but not yet sure if whisky is their thing at all. It represents the fruity fresh character of Speyside distilleries very clearly, without any traces of either sherry or peat smoke.

My take on Laphroaig Quarter Cask

After the Macallan 12 yo as a representative of a heavily sherry influenced whisky last time, I still needed a strongly peated one in order to cover all important basic corners. For peated whiskies, the most famous option is to look out for the island of Islay, which is home to many distilleries that produce traditionally peat loaded stuff. The most widely known brands are probably Lagavulin, Laphroaig, and Ardbeg. As already mentioned with the Glenfiddich 12 yo, my first lesson about whisky I learned from Frank Schätzing in one of his novels, where Lagavulin and Laphroaig were presented as 'the good stuff'. Naturally, whenever I sought out whisky in the following, I tried to adhere to these guidelines, and on more than one occasion came across the Laphroaig 10 yo, which is affordable and pretty damn tasty.

When starting my whisky passion for real last year, I wanted to try out some unknowns, and opted therefore for the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. This bottling is very similar to the standard 10 year old, but taken a bit earlier from the casks and finished off in smaller casks (quarter casks) that give an increased whisky-wood engagement during the final months before being bottled. Also, this stuff is presented with a higher alcoholic strength (48% ABV instead of 40% with the 10 yo), and un-chillfiltered. The higher alcohol content means that more flavor and aromas can be contained in the liquid, while the omitted chillfiltration is something that whisky afficionados always want to have, but for the beginner maybe is not such an important factor.

My take on Macallan 12 yo (Sherry Oak)

As I wrote in my last post, the model I use to organize the single malt landscape for myself during these first steps of my whisky journey, is based on two main characteristics. There is the peat smoke element, and the sherry element. The first malt I encountered on my journey, the Glenfiddich 12 yo, features neither of these, while the second one, the Highland Park 12 yo, has a good deal of both. In order to find one's bearings at the start of the journey, though, I think it is a good idea to sample extreme examples, that exhibit only one of the two mentioned elements.

As representative of an extreme sherry influenced whisky, I chose the Macallan 12 yo (Sherry Oak). Macallan is a well established and famous distillery, and the 12 year old Sherry Oak seems to enjoy a rather good reputation among whisky fans around the world. Now, apparently Macallan has decided to discontinue this bottling (at least in certain markets), and replace it with a series of NAS (non-age-statement) whiskies that receive rather negative critiques from the community. Therefore, the prices for the last availlable bottles of the 12 yo in Germany (and other countries) have risen beyond any reason, but in Japan - where I happen to live - it is still readily availlable and on the same price level as other entry malts. Lucky me - I decided to try this while I still have the chance!

My take on Highland Park 12 yo

The entry point into the world of single malt Scotch whisky for myself, as for countless others, was the Glenfiddich 12 yo. Once you got to know and appreciate this one, you soon want to go further and experience what else the world of malt has to offer. An often iterated recommendation to beginners like myself at this point, is to look out for the standard expression of Highland Park, the 12 year old.

There are numerous characteristics under which whiskies could be categorized. The most accessible scheme for me as novice, which I started to use in order to get my bearings, is as follows:

The basic flavor comes to me as fresh and fruity, with sweet vanilla notes from the toasted oak wood used for maturation, nicely embodied by the above mentioned Glenfiddich.
One of the main additional features often employed in the making of whisky is peat smoke. The smoke of burning peat was traditionally used in Scotland to dry the barley after malting, which imposed this characteristic flavor profile onto that malt, and ultimately into the final spirit. Today, it is no longer a necessity in the production process, but frequently used intentionally to achieve a flavor resembling that of traditional Scotch whiskies.

My take on Glenfiddich 12 yo

It is the best selling single malt Scotch whisky, and in fact the one that made single malt popular around the world.

For most non-afficionados, it is simply the epitome of single malt whisky.

And it is also the starting point for my personal whisky journey. So - although there's got to be roughly a million reviews about this stuff already out there - I'm going to give my take on it here as well.

My first encounter with the name "Glenfiddich" - in fact the first time I was made aware of the single malt Scotch whisky culture at all - was in the German novel "Lautlos" by Frank Schätzing. He let his (Scottish) protagonist explain that Glenfiddich is basically piss water, and have him pour it down the drain. He went on praising malts like Laphroaig and Lagavulin, which at the time set the tone for my own whisky explorations. So although I started looking out for the occasional dram, I kept avoiding Glenfiddich for quite some time.