Penny for Your Thoughts - Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Glenfarclas 12, Jim Beam
The main purpose of this post is to tie off some loose ends from recent travels, but the feature review is an excellent sample bottle I received from a friend: Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve.
Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve (43% ABV) - Sherry for days, some sweet oak, strawberry, fruit jellies (sweeter, lighter smell than jams), cherry, and a bit of rice vinegar define the nose. The taste is smooth and impressive for a NAS whiskey -- honey-coated almonds, a dash of Christmas season spices, cherry, and some caramel from the oak, almost like a slightly diluted bourbon flavor. The finish is well-integrated and just pleasant. I get sherry again, a bit of creaminess to balance the tartness, a quite prominent cherry, again a bourbon-like element (spice, mint, a touch of bitterness as if the cherry pits are in there too), and a final wisp of raspberry flavor as the long finish fades to black.
OK, the world has been going a bit mad for Japanese whiskies for a few years now. I even remember the turning point in the DC area, where I lived for the last few years. Sometime back in 2014, I saw Yamazaki 12 on the shelf for $90 but opted for Hakushu 12 at $70, thinking to myself that was already a high price to pay for a 12-year whiskey. By the time I went back a few months later, both were $100. By the time I went back a year later, they weren't even on the shelf anymore. Later, I did manage to find and enjoy a few Yamazaki 12 drams at Big in Japan bar in Montreal in 2015, which was one of the cooler bars I'd been in at the time (the décor consisted of dozens of bottles of 12 and other Japanese expressions hanging from the ceiling, and patrons could buy a personal bottle that would hang up there, but would be their exclusive bottle to enjoy whenever they returned). Out of curiosity I looked at the bar's menu again this week, and it didn't even list Yamazaki 12 as an option anymore, only NAS Suntory Toki. It may be 10-12 years until Japanese production catches up to this market so that we can once again enjoy their whiskies at reasonable cost and with reasonable availability. Such is life.
Leaving that long-winded digression behind, I personally wouldn't bite the bullet and pay the $100+ that this whiskey costs (at least according to Wine Searcher). That being said, it's a worthy successor to the 12, and if I'd tasted it blind I probably would have guessed it was a 15-year old whiskey. It outshines many Highland or Speyside malts in the $60-80 range. A-
* * *
Buffalo Trace (45%) - After trying Buffalo Trace for the first time (one of my wife's orders on a recent flight), it may just have earned its place as my house "well" bourbon. It definitely favors the lighter, sweeter side of the spectrum, with scents of coconut, whipped cream, a bit of toffee, corn, and the slightest hint of oak on the nose. It's easy drinking and tasty, with a bit of Asian pear sweetness followed by a corn pudding, brown sugar glazed donut combo. The finish is where some spice and oak presence asserts itself more fully, and it's long and warming. The ghost of that Asian pear also might ruffle the curtains a bit at the end. Hard to imagine a bourbon at $25 that beats this one; I certainly can't name one. I prefer this bottle to Bulleit or even Evan Williams Single Barrel, and really appreciate the fact that it's bottled at a robust 45%. B+
Jim Beam Devil's Cut (45%) - The second of my wife's two picks on the same flight, so I got to try it. The marketing hype for this bourbon, which included ads with Mila Kunis, instantly made me skeptical it could be any good in the glass. But, what do I know, it's actually a pretty great whiskey and a powerful oak monster. Firewood, kindling, bark, new-made furniture -- starting to get the picture? -- dominate the nose and palate. In the background I detect only a hint of corn, some syrup, and maybe some capers providing a little seasoning. The finish is sweet and mellow, right? Of course not, it's oak again, like the third act of the trilogy. I loved the clear expression of woody flavor, but the drink is unbalanced as a result, as there isn't enough of a complement to those notes, particularly on the tongue. It's the opposite end of the spectrum from typical, inexpensive bourbons, which tend to lean too heavily on sweet flavors. In contrast, when drinking Devil's Cut, it's the tannic or woody bitterness that can be a bit much on some sips. Although far from perfect, if you'd given this to me blind, you easily could have convinced me I was tasting an old-in-the-tooth bourbon that had just tipped over a bit into the overoaked realm. Very unique profile at its $20-25 price point. B
Glenfarclas 12 (43%) - Now we're on to my two picks. Apparently the distillery struck a deal with United, and now the 12 year is on every flight. Glenfarclas's nose isn't a classic sherry bomb as I might have expected from its reputation. It does have a wine-like character, but also a lot of apple cider, and a bit of varnish. The palate is the best part, again with apple leading the way, some grape, a lot of herbal spiciness, and a roast nut quality that leaves a smoky or mildly sulfurous impression. The finish is disappointingly short and is more of a bitter tingle, like resin, with just a hint of tart fruitiness. I'd take Macallan 12 over Glenfarclas 12 any day, due to the letdown at the finish, but I remain excited to try the famous 17. C+
Dewar's White Label (40%) - Dewar's bottom-line brand is like a synthetic down pillow -- nice enough, nothing to write home about, and guaranteed to draw out a snore. I get the Aberfeldy fruitiness on the nose, which is nice, along with a sherried raisin note, but also a healthy dose of vinegar and grain alcohol. The palate is thin and inoffensive, almost waiflike, with a sweet and malty character but stripped of more pronounced features. It makes me suspect that Dewar's did too good a job at blending and polishing off the corners here, probably to make a middle-of-the-road flavor profile for mixed drinks. The finish is quick, over in a second or two, and not a trip to Flavortown, as Guy Fieri would say. More like a trip to one of his actual restaurants (we were watching the show on the flight, which is why that random thought popped into my head). No major negatives here, but not worth imbibing for anyone who cares about finding distinctive flavors in a whiskey. C