The 10 yo was very fine but had been narrowly pipped by its Miyagikyo cousin of the same age. Let’s see whether another ten years can turn the tables… Colour: full gold. Nose: rich, highly aromatic, even enveloping on the nose, with plenty of honeys, proper bitter orange marmalade, and a very delicate smokiness, very vegetal, almost resinous. Mango liqueur then comes in, together with manuka honey and salted butter caramel. Nothing less. With water: a little more towards fig leaves, tomato leaves… Mouth (neat): smokier, more resinous, with a slight roughness that isn’t out of place at all (see our comments on the integration of oak in Japanese whiskies a little further up), and some salted citrus paste. Superb and powerful, with a slight Ardbeggian side. With water: it softens, almost falls into line, and moves even closer towards candied citrus. Finish: long, elegant, much less invasive than I had expected. Comments: I’m repeating myself, but these babies are very sensitive to water, so careful with that pipette, Eugene.
SGP:364 - 91 points.
- Whiskyfun
