Nikka Yoichi 15 Year

Yeah, it's as good as they say it is. Know what's even better? Getting the last pour of it, probably ever, at your preferred local bar. The bartender gave me more like a pour and a half because there wasn't quite enough for a second...happy Father's Day to me! This has pretty much everything you could want in a Japanese whisky, or about any other kind - a nose that smells like a cookout in a fruit orchard at high season, a pleasantly rich (but not heavy) mouth with the right balance of ripe stone fruit, pineapple, and mango with charcoal smoke. The finish is lingering and smolders like those coals on the grill do long after you've finished cooking. So, so good - drink it if you can find it.

Really rich and complex. Yoichi is one of the only distilleries that still uses coal, so there's a very earthy flavor to this, in addition to the fruity sweet. A real gem. I've tried their 10 yr old and 15...the 10 has more fruit forward while the 15 is more earthy. Now that Nikka has announced they'll stop making age statements, I can't image the 15 to be in the market for long. Wondering if Suntory will go that route too...getting noticeably harder to find the Yamazaki 18.

This darker amber dram greeted me with a hint of peach and oak, both on fire. Going in, it was almost sherry, definitely smoky wood. Finished with a lingering caramel. Very, very smooth all around. A few drops of water seemed to add a bit of a spice. As a highball, it was rendered into an adult peach and apple drink (no judgment on that particular outcome...). To me, there was an odd (but NOT unpleasant) fleeting signature to the taste. I'm not sure what it is. It's unique.

Nose - Light peaty smoke, sweet salty brine, apples, honeydew melon. Taste - Immediately a sweet briny smoke, light bitterness like that of an oversteeped black tea. Toasted wet seaweed, toasted oats and toasted malted barley. Finish - Salty smoky seaweed, light bitterness like burnt wet seaweed, salted green tea caramel-like sweetness. Long lingering briny smoke. Light honeydew melon sweetness makes a background appearance. 80/100

Amazing whisky. Was fortunate to order it at a restaurant that still has it and got one of the last pours of it there at $11. Amazing flavors of vanilla, caramel, coconut, floral notes, sherried berries, chocolate, nuttiness, a unique truffle earthiness, dried fruit, and whisps of smoke.

01/01/15 Nose is light and slightly fruity. No real smoky woody flavor. Very different than bourbon. Almost an astringint taste that may take me some getting used to. Better on the rock than neat. Floral comes through a bit but not sweet.