Mike’s Blind Drop 11-23-2020
Rachid’s tasting notes:
Mike’s blind whisk(e)y drops are getting trickier these days. While still deeply in love with SMWSA, he’s branched out into distillery releases (and not just Scotch). Two vials were dropped, one marked with an umbrella and the other with a mountain sticker. Mike’s also in love with his fancy label-maker.
I thought both were both Speyside distillery releases, bottled at around 45% at 12 years old. They were both enjoyable and extremely easy to drink. As far as complexity, I told Mike (pre-reveal) that the whisky that eventually turned out to be Hakushu 12 is a bit darker/more substantial.
Glen Grant 12:
Glen Grant is a Speyside producer owned by Campari. The 12 is bottled at 43%.
Appearance: pale gold
Nose: honey and pear, a sprinkle of Maldon. With a bit of time, butterscotch emerges.
Palate: caramel and vanilla, a touch of cherry. decent mouthfeel. Finish: medium, caramel.
Score: 5/10
Hakushu 12:
Produced by Suntory, bottled at 43%.
Appearance: slightly less pale gold
Nose: juicy apples, vanilla custard
Palate: a bit more oomph here. Apples, caramel, a kiss of oak.
Finish: medium-long, white pepper and a touch of cinnamon.
Score: 6/10
Mike’s tasting notes:
Glen Grant 12:
After a long period of targeting single cask, limited releases, cask strength, and independent bottlers, I started to feel some very real palate (and wallet) fatigue. I figured the best solution was an exploration into core expressions of distilleries slightly off the beaten path. First is Glen Grant.
Nose: Toffee, red apple, a touch of baking spice: anise and cinnamon
Palate: Apples, honey, vanilla
Finish: Short. Fruity with dry spice.
Score: 5.5/10
This is a nice, affordable whiskey. Very fruity and a tasty, easy drinker that isn’t particularly complex but has no major faults. Malt mustiness and barrel tannins are very low here, so it could also make for an excellent mixer.
Hakushu 12:
“For relaxing times…make it Suntory time.”
The words that sparked a Japanese whiskey boom. Ever since Bill Murray’s disenchanted Bob Harris struggled to deliver that marketing slogan “with intensity!” in 2003’s Lost in Translation, the hype and accolades for Japanese whiskey have been seemingly unending. My experience with Japanese whiskey has been less enthusiastic. I haven’t yet drank the Kool-Aid. Will an expression from Suntory’s forest distillery change that?
Nose: Damp leaves on a forest floor, freshly cut flowers, fresh mint leaf, Asian pear, butterscotch, salt, a wisp of smoke
Palate: Red apples, honey, grapefruit zest, oak, pine, black pepper, wood char
Finish: Medium-long with oak, black pepper, and char
Score: 7.5/10
Freshness rules the day here. The nose is evocative of a walk through the forest after a spring rain. Damp earth and fresh flora unfurl into fresh fruit and butterscotch and a kiss of smoke and salt. The palate reveals more fruit and finishes with a decidedly woody character–one could be convinced some of spirit was aged in virgin oak. This is the Japanese whiskey I’ve been looking for. Restrained and subtle initially, with a stunningly fresh character. Patience unveils layers of complexity and balance.