Hakushu Heavily Peated Single Malt Whisky
The Japanese make a mean single malt whisky, as I’ve said many times before. This is my first taste of whisky from the Hakushu distillery, which is located deep in the forests of the Southern Japan Alps.
Being a fan of peated whiskies, but not having tried one from Japan, I opted for the Hakushu Heavily Peated.
The colour is a reasonably light amber, perhaps straw. On the nose: a surprisingly gentle smokiness and not the full whack you’d expect; there’s a distinct sweetness, mixed with briny notes. A touch of sour cream, too.
In the mouth: boom there’s the smoke, but an incredible balanced sweetness to go with it. What a lovely, chewy, peppery, mouth-watering sensation. So much so that the peat is quite understated and bound up with the whisky. It doesn’t hang about in the mouth too long (possibly a fairly young whisky all in all – not that it’s a bad thing), but there’s a wonderful sugar-coated barley aftertaste. This is remarkably well constructed, a masterclass in balancing whisky.
For some reason, I can’t help but think this would be the perfect winter whisky. It’ll set you back around £65 – pricy for most, perhaps, but the evenings are drawing nearer, so you could treat yourself… I’ve really not been let down by any Japanese single malt I’ve tried to date.
To finish, it’s worth adding that the Hakushu distillery is owned by Suntory, so it merits a final word from Bill Murray: