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.

To be honest, I didn't think much of this stuff and overlooked it a long time. It is a mass product that is available in Japan in almost every supermarket, certainly not a single malt, and as such naturally does not fall within the category that whisky nerds usually look for. However, the shape and size of the bottle are peculiar (600 ml), it has a nice design, and the alcoholic strength (as the name suggests) is at 50% ABV - rather high. Online, I have found a few reviews that praise this whisky as better than you would expect for the price. That, of course, only holds if you take the Japanese supermarket price. I have seen this  stuff listed at European retailers for incredibly high prices - buyer beware!

To say it up front: I was not impressed. The quality seems to be higher than that of most basic mass product whiskies for the purpose of mixing, but that doesn't mean much. The main problem I have with this whisky is not even that it is missing a large complexity in terms of smell and taste, but that it really makes me feel strangely sick after "enjoying" a whole dram.

Anyway, it is always educational also to try out the "not-so-good" stuff to be able to appreciate the quality that we can find in other places even more. So here are my tasting notes for the Fuji Sanroku 50°:

Nose: Strong alcohol. Difficult to smell beyond that, but there seem to be some notes of pear and dry wood.

Taste: Still way too much alcohol that overpowers all the other notes that are actually there. However, my attempt to bring the strength down by adding a little water immediately killed the whisky.

Finish: Bitter wood with a hint of chemical solvent (like glue). The wood quickly vanishes, but the glue lingers. This, I think, is the reason for the bad feeling in the stomach at the end of the evening...

Bottom line: The nose is not too bad, but the strong alcoholic taste doesn't allow anything interesting to develop. My experiments with water failed, and even mixing it with cola was rather offputting. The only use for this whisky I found so far, for which it's really good, is cooking.
 + cheap, if you live in Japan
 - Better than the standard mixing whiskies from discounters - that's about the best that can be said about this one. I do not recommend this one.

Slàinte mhath!