Matsui haven't impressed me yet. I have had a couple lf their offerings and they have been interesting, but normal. This "Sakura" Cask, which are Cherry casks (not sherry) and somehow this is consider legal in the whisky world. Bottled at 48%abv, white wine color. On the nose it is very floral. Car air freshener, cotton candy, grapes, apple juice, hay, tutti-frutti artificial juice, lots of flower profiles. After a first sip, it gave me milk chocolate. On the palate, it is winey. Grapes, roses, floral notes and rosé wine. Aftertaste has a different tone. Tobacco, hay, recently baked brownies, salty and ginger. Dry. Overall, this is a very sweet and floral whisky, but it lacks personality. It is too "thin", even if it is a 48%abv, it doesn't feel that way at all. Everything feels weak. Nevertheless, the aroma and tasting notes are good ones, good enough to score an 82 over 100 in my book.
About this bottle
This single malt expression is produced by Kurayoshi Distillery, in the foothills of Mt. Daisen, under the Matsui brand. It is initially matured in traditional oak, then rested in sakura cherry tree casks. It is bottled at 48% ABV.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 19 parsed reviews.
An elegant, single malt whisky crafted by Kurayoshi Distillery in Tottori Prefecture, Japan using natural spring water from Mt. Daisen & matured in cherry wood (Sakura) casks. It has an aromatic birth with notes of almond, hints of fresh orange, malt, melon & sawdust spiciness; while a rich & crisp life adds notes of baking spices & a hint of cherry blossom; that leads to a balanced death of medium length with notes of white pepper & vanilla sponge cake. August 2022
Nice mix of fruity and floral Nose: Vanilla, Roses, Peaches, Strawberries, Cherry Blossoms, Oranges, Lavender, Nectarines, Figs Palate: Vanilla, Cherry Blossoms, Rose Petals, Nectarines, Peaches, Apricots, Brown Sugar Finish: Brown Sugar, Roses, Honey, Vanilla, Coriander, Sunflowers, Cherry Blossoms, Lavender
Smells like it will burn a bit. At 48%, I expected a burn but nope. Sure, a little tingle on the tongue but nothing more. Smooth as hell. There's some wood there but not offensively young. Very nice!
Intriguing, almost a lemon tartness on nose, which does not appear at all when tasting. Smooth and approachable, light fruit, faint hints of honey and earthiness.
Delicate - the floral notes are apparent but there’s also more noticeable ethanol than I usually notice in other Japanese whisky
13 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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