Like Hibiki and Yamazaki, of course, this isn't technically Scotch. But this is the closest Scotch analog of any whisky not made in Scotland, by a landslide.
A few words about this particular vintage: the Hakushu distillery was constructed in 1973, fifty years after the Yamazaki distillery. It sits high in the forests of the Japanese Southern Alps, and the distillery prides itself on pure water that filters through ancient rock, many plant varietals to flavor the water subtly, and the same general climate of the Scottish Highlands.
This is one of the Big Three Suntory whiskies generally available in liquor stores (along with the aforementioned Hibiki and Yamazaki). Let's see what generated such a strong negative opinion from me:
Nose: Extremely unpleasant. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or what, but at $70 a bottle, I can't exactly try again easily. I found Port Charlotte Peat Project unpleasant, but this is nigh intolerable - I actually winced away from the glass. Suntory's website describes the nose as "basil, pine needles, and apples." First, even if this were true, those are NOT flavors that go together naturally.
What I got was wood varnish and wood glue. Glue for years. Like that thick white Elmer's glue. I imagine it smells like the breath of the kids who eat paste in school. I also got rotten apple cores - there is an apple element, like they advertise, but it's tainted somehow. I really wondered, repeatedly, whether something had happened to my bottle. It has a cheap plastic screw-top - very anomalous for a whisky in this price range and with an accent on quality - and I wondered if it had leaked somehow. Glue and rot are not pleasant things to smell in something you're about to sip down the gullet.
I don't know how to describe the smell of wood varnish. Mineral spirits? Paint thinner? It's so distinctive and yet hard to put words to. I thought I was half-crazy until I read a few other reviews that included adjectives like "baby vomit" and "turpentine" and "burning."
But many others had nothing but superlatives. Someday I'd like to try this again and see if it was just a bad batch.
Mouthfeel: Oily, coats the mouth.
Palate: Things improve but not tremendously. The website says "sweet pear, mint, kiwi" - again, three weird flavors. I only got the mint. The pear I can understand, because there is a coolness here paired with sweet fruit flesh. Everything is delicate. You have to come to this whisky with a virgin mouth - eating or drinking anything beforehand colors the taste.
Fresh mint, apple flesh, sugar, malt. Simple and pure, but not really outstanding in any way. It's not unpleasant but not pleasant either.
Finish: The website hits new heights of insanity with "green tea and smoke." Smoke, maybe. Green tea ain't anywhere within miles of this whisky. I got plum (!) and smoke and pepper. Pepper dominating. The best thing about the dram.
Verdict: Absolutely not recommended. This would be not recommended if it were $25, but it's $70 - outrageous for what I just drank down. Either I got a bum bottle ... or this is a serious misfire. I have such a hard time believing this is a disaster, especially with how wonderful Hibiki and Yamazaki are. I'll just have to bite the bullet and try this again sometime. I'd love to hear from any readers who have tried this what they thought.
Link to the Suntory website for Hakushu 12: http://www.suntory.com/whisky/en/hakushu/lineup/index.html
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