[White Oak] Meikakuna Trader Joe’s Excl.

Rating29.6/40
OriginJapan, Hyogo Prefecture
Distillery[White Oak]
Owner[Eigashima Shuzo]
BlenderShiki Shuzo Corporation
StyleBlended Whisky
Strength43% (86 Proof)
RetailerTrader Joe’s

Despite there being virtually no information on the bottle, the clue to this having been distilled at Eigashima Shuzo’s White Oak distillery is that the bottle says this was distilled in Hyogo prefecture. White Oak is the only distillery there. Between that and some digging through public US shipping records I’m about 95% certain that I’ve got this right. Either way this little gem is exclusively sold by Trader Joe’s. And at a surprisingly low price given the rather steep prices fetched by Japanese whiskies off late.

Nose: A rowdy crowd of freshly cut thin slices of barely ripened green apples explodes out of the glass and noisily rattles about the whole place. Right after things calm down a bit as soon as a well-dressed group of dignified red apples enters the room in a much more quiet and orderly fashion. Between the two influences the nose evolves into a rather nice and interesting experience of, you probably guessed it, appleness. Oh, and someone recently polished all the wooden furniture with camphor hand lotion. (7.5 /10)

Palate: Wait, where did all the apples go? There’s a slice of spice across the middle of the tongue that seems to extend neither to the front nor the back. I don’t think I’ve ever had a whisky with a palate that sits sideways across the mouth like a stuck piece of 2×4. With the apples having left the party the polished wood furniture comes to the fore, slowly shifting from the nose’s hand lotion notes to a more untreated kind of oak that has a bit of a roughness to it. It even occasionally tries to bite you with tiny bitter teeth. What starts as spiciness eventually evolves into a continuous, wide-spread sensation of gentle sparkling on the surface of your tongue. (7.1/10)

Finish: This is where the oak lives. Almost dry, a lovely wood note that reveals brighter notes each time when breathing out. Here and there bitter spots come out of nowhere and fade again. There is even a subtle coating of smoke in the back of the throat that comes alive on every breath. For a bottle strength whisky this fills out surprisingly well over time though there’s, unsurprisingly, not a lot of chest action. Still a pleasant and mild warmth manages to settle it after a while. (7.8/10)

Balance: If it wasn’t for that bit of roughness on the palate and the occasional bitter edge biting you out of nowhere this would be pretty damn good. In many ways it still is, especially considering the rather low price for a Japanese whisky. I did not expect to but I really quite like this. (7.2/10)

Yamazaki, 12yo

Rating32.5/40
OriginJapan
DistilleryYamazaki
OwnerSuntory Holdings via Beam Suntory
StyleSingle Malt
Strength43% (86 Proof)
WhiskybaseWhiskybase

Thanks to a bottle donation there was suddenly this rare opportunity to once again try this classic Japanese 12 year old single malt from Osaka’s Yamazaki distillery. Like many age statement release from Japan this one was discontinued a few years ago and bottles have all but disappeared from most shelves. What’s left fetches a rather high price due to increased collectibility.

Nose: Sherry steamed green apples create a nice interplay between sweet and sour/acidic notes. Unfortunately the sherried aspect fades and only the green apples stay. After the first contact with the palate the nose becomes almost undetectable. Still, quite lovely. (8/10)

Palate: This is the very principle of a light and fruity single malt purified almost out of existence at first but then, very slowly, dark planks of oak float up from its depths to bob about on gentle waves. This is very polished and there is not a whole lot of individuality to this whisky but it’s very enjoyable. (8/10)

Finish: A soft, dark, smooth and, surprisingly, very long lasting afterglow that reaches almost to the mid-point of my chest. Rather unexpected for a bottle strength whisky but very welcome. (8.5/10)

Balance: There’s nothing to complain about at all but also nothing that really makes you think. But if you take it own its own very light and gentle terms it actually has quite a bit to offer. (8/10)

Matsui The Tottori ex-Bourbon Barrel, 2017

Matsui Shuzo The Tottori Bourbon Barrel close-up
Rating24/40
OriginJapan
DistilleryMatsui Whisky
OwnerMatsui Shuzo
SeriesThe Tottori
StyleBlended Whisky
Caskex-Bourbon Barrels
Bottled2017
Strength43% (86 Proof)
WhiskybaseWhiskybase
Wine SearcherWine Searcher
Product PageMatsui Shuzo

The Tottori is a somewhat controversial and basically fake “Japanese” whisky from Japan’s Whisky Public Enemy #1, Matsui Shuzo. While signs abound that the company is serious about distilling their own product it appears they’ve only even begun to actively distill whisky at Kurayoshi distillery in 2017 after acquiring a license to do so in 2015. The company itself has a long history of making Shochu since 1910 but their legitimacy in the world of Japanese whisky is certainly compromised due to their continued efforts to obfuscate as much as possible the reality of the fact, that the juice they bottle is not at all distilled in Japan. It says “Japanese Whisky” and it “Made in Japan” on their bottles and, while technically correct, that in itself is very much a matter of running a truckload of barrels over the, uh, spirit of the law, in order to follow the letter of the law.

This particular blend was matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, bottled in 2017 and has come to be in my hands as a Christmas gift. I certainly won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. In fact, controversy or not, I’ll be putting this particular gift horse INSIDE of MY mouth shortly.

Nose: Right out of the bottle we have roasted apples. After a minute in the glass warm wood notes emerge suggesting some quality but before you know it you are standing in front of a big stack of bargain pine 2x4s at Home Depot. The ones that twist and bend when you let them acclimatize at the construction site. The first impressions would have warranted at 7 here but, alas, they were fleeting. (5/10)

Palate: The bright, dry pine notes continue on the palate though less irritating than they were on the nose. The contractor who bought the 2x4s either put on a bit of herbaceous cologne in the morning or perhaps he scrubbed his kitchen floors with Pine-scented cleaner. Kinda refreshing. (7/10)

Finish: That pile of cinnamon sprinkled peels over in the corner must be left from roasting apples for the nose earlier. Almost missed them. But after creeping up on me like that the finish is actually building and settling in nicely. Also I feel like having some mulled wine all of a sudden. (7/10)

Balance: A bit all over the place this one. I like the initial nose but not what it turns into. Then I don’t like the initial hit on the palate but I do like what it turns into. Then the finish seems absent but suddenly sneaks up on you and taps you on the shoulder. Now its all comfy on my sofa. But I don’t mind. Or do I? (6/10)

Water: Two drops sort of vaporize the nose into a puff of dried old shoe polish that must’ve been stuck on the 2x4s. The palate does some quite interesting stuff around the edges where some darker notes come into play. Blackberries perhaps? But hints of flat watery cola in the center compromise that experience just for a moment. The berries last into the finish where we now also meet our old friends, the crappy bargain 2x4s, once more. Adding water was worthwhile but I have to say: this is not exactly the most stable dram.

Nikka Yoichi, 15yo

Rating32/40
OriginJapan
DistilleryNikka Yoichi
OwnerAsahi Breweries
StyleSingle Malt Whisky
Strength45% (90 proof)
RetailerNo longer available.

Nose: Someone left a leather jacket draped over a crate of old oranges and went to polish their shoes at the other end of the room. (8/10)

Palate: Sucking on a dried up orange peel that had been previously used to garnish a well balanced Negroni. (8/10)

Finish: After considering things for a while I have come to believe that shoe polish does have a place in caring for antique furniture. A few blocks down the road someone is burning oak chairs. (8/10)

Balance: Lovely. Delicate for sure, but lovely. (8/10)