The Hakushu Distillers Reserve (하쿠슈 디스틸러스 리저브)

(한국어 시음기 밑에 있어요!)

The rise of Japanese whisky on the international scene saw the elevation of Suntory and Nikka to the lofty heights of greatness that had once only been occupied by Scottish, Irish and American distillers. For Suntory, this led to a skyrocketing of sales for their Hakushu, Yamazaki and Hibiki brands, but such an unexpected rise in sales brought with it the curse of success. They did not have enough aged malt whisky to meet demand. As I mentioned previously in my other reviews of Suntory products, in order to meet demand, Suntory began releasing no age statement (NAS) versions of their highly acclaimed lineup.

The Hakushu is a NAS release from the similarly named Hakushu distillery in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. It is known as the forest distillery due to its idyllic location on the slopes of Mount Kaikoma and also functions as Suntory’s answer to Nikka’s Yoichi distillery. Like Yoichi, Hakushu produces a lightly peated malt. However it is somewhat lighter and more floral than the distillate of Yoichi.

This one is probably the easiest to obtain of the Hakushu line-up due to the age statement releases being discontinued, but in my time in Japan, both in Osaka in October and Hokkaido in January, I did not once see this whisky for sale. It is considerably more difficult to get one's hands on than the Yoichi from Nikka.

I’ll also add that this was the first ever Japanese whisky that I tried.

Vitals:

ABV: 43%

Colour: Straw

Chill-filtered: Yes

Nose: Mildly smoky at first, along with notes of peppermint and grass, but as the smoke disperses, the herbal notes are replaced by lemons and raspberries. The raspberry note progressively becomes sweeter and develops into a caramel note with a mild hint of vanilla. Behind this lies notes of malted barley and some light green tea, akin to Japanese genmaicha. 18/25

Palate: Raspberries, lemons and a gentle peat smoke are followed by peppermint and herbs, reminiscent of lemon-mint throat candies. There's a smidgen of wood and vanilla behind this, but it mostly stays in the background. Not complex, but smooth and easy to drink. 21/25

Finish: Long but very gentle and easy going, with a slightly medicinal minty smoke. 19.5/25

Value*: Much more widely available in Korea than most Japanese whiskies, but the price-point is poor. As I said with the Yamazaki DR, it's nice, but you can find 14-16 year old Scotch for around the same price with magnitudes more complexity. 9/25

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s a decent entry level Japanese whisky that’s quite delicate, but not afraid to throw in the odd sucker punch when you are least expecting it. It actually reminds of Glenfiddich 12 witha teaspoon of peat and if I ever come across this variant of the Hakushu at a bar, I think I might need to order a dram of both to compare....for science of course! But seriously though, if you like Glenfiddich and other Speyside single malts then you can't really go wrong with the Hakushu Distillers Reserve.

Basic Rating: 78%

Price Adjusted Rating*: 67.5%

Daily Drinker: If you have it, sure. It's certainly pleasant and light enough to drink often.

Possible pairing: Cream cheese and crackers come to mind.

Where to find in Korea: Namdaemun (남대문), Jura Shop(주라숍).

TLDR Version:

N: Apples, citrus, spring flowers, vanilla and herbal peat.

P: Apples, pears, lemons and ginger tea. slightly earthy.

F: Very floral. Pear blossoms and cinnamon bark.

V: Poor value in Korea.

한국어 시음평:

향: 약간의 스모크 향, 페퍼민트, 잔디 → 레몬, 라즈베리 → 더 달콤한 라즈베리, 캬라멜, 약간의 바닐라와 맥아

맛: 라즈베리, 레몬, 약한 피트와 스모크 → 민트, 허브 → 약간의 우드, 바닐라

* 마치 리콜라와 같은 레몬민트 사탕이 떠오르는 맛입니다ㅎ 팔레트가 다양하진 않지만 부드럽고 목넘김이 좋습니다.

끝맛: 약간의 민트와 스모키함이 느껴집니다. 피니시가 굉장히 부드러우면서도 기네요.

결론: 개인적으로 라즈베리를 굉장히 좋아하다보니 마음에 많이 들었던 위스키입니다. 하지만 시큼한 맛이 조금 있다보니, 신 맛의 위스키를 싫어하는 분께는 추천하기 어려울 것 같습니다.

Buy / Mooch / Pass: Pass for now. Opt for a speyside instead unless you visit Japan.

Review by Glasgowhisky

2020/02/04