White Oak Akashi Single Malt

Nose - Initially very little alcohol, clean crisp floral pear-pineapple sweet/sour, green hay, riesling/moscato sweet, faint plum wine made from sour green plums. Taste - Toasted barley cereal, toasted rice at the bottom of a stone pot, toasted sour green apple skins, almost like a sour lambic apple cider made entirely with apple skins because it's lightly bitter. Finish - Light medicinal finish, lingering sour, almost like an overoaked riesling in that it's a bit sour, but also sweet. A tiny bit bitter like that of apple skins, but that fades. Score - 67/100 Final Thoughts - So initially the nose on this wasn't that bad, it wasn't great, but it wasn't off-putting either. On first sip my initial reaction was that it tasted like a liquefied version of toasted barley cereal in that it tasted exactly like a sample of toasted barley I had during a distillery tour. This quickly turned to be dominated by fruity sour notes. It's not horrible, but not my favorite. I guess you might like this whisky if you're a fan of the sour lambic beers as this kind of tastes like a light version of a sour lambic beer that is mixed with diluted apple cider vinegar.

Nose: Battenberg cake, strawberry pencils, something herbal and savoury I can’t really figure out that sits right below the surface and hits right at the back of the nose, almost like those plastic-y paper tablecloths at Imperial Palace or the smell of the grocery store below it. A bit of jasmine to it, fennel, paint. Palate: smokier than expected, like lapsang. Definitely savoury on the first few sips, a little bit of smoked meat but more of an ashy spent bonfire smoke. Tastes very earthy and organic, mossy. Bit of a butterscotch roundness in the background, but more about the savoury notes for me. Slight bit of coffee maybe? Milk bottle candies. Drying. Finish: dark to milk chocolate with that wafting earthy smoke, maybe a bit of cooked apple. Overall: really interesting and unusual one for me, loved those earthy smoky notes on the palate that I wasn’t expecting. The weird, slightly sickly nose threw me for a loop - had elements of Springbank funk to it at times, and that’s the closest comparison I can think of. Slightly sweet pukey note you get on a springbank, like someone’s eaten Battenberg cake and tossed it back up.

Juin 2024 - Paris Robe claire, jaune banane Nez sucré et alcoolisé , quelques subtilités fruitées La 1ère bouche est douce et sucré comme la caresse d'une femme qui vous reveille le matin.. Une seconde bouche très pimenté, qui déploie la puissance de ce whisky avec l'ardeur du jour La 3ème bouche est toute mielleuse comme une douce nuit d'été Un whisky élégant pour femme raffinée, peu de coffre, quelques subtilités fruitées, une grande douceur.. Je ne saurais me montrer tres objectif sur cette dégustation. Après avoir passer 48 h à sertir des moules de sables à la masse et couler des statues de bronzes, voilà que les femmes me paraissent plus douces et les whisky plus goutûs. Serait-ce là le secret des anciens ? Pratiquer des métiers durs, rugueux dans des environnements d'hommes pour magnifier la beauté et la douceur de nos whiskys et de nos femmes ? Il semblerait que je tienne ici une piste pour l'Eden ...

Nose: Juicy sweetness (peach, lychee, honey), followed by charred oak and a light peat. Caramel, butterscotch, and malty notes appear after it sits in the glass. Slight hints of vinegar. Taste: Slight sweetness (caramel?), some citrus and oaky bitterness. Smokiness is noticeable and warm, but not strong. The flavors felt muted so I tried swishing this one in my mouth and it brought out much more fruity (apple and lychee) and earthy notes (hay, malt). Finish: Light smoke, some spice, some bitterness. Not bad, not great. The nose is nice with different flavors popping out as it sits in the glass. There's a balance of flavors on the taste but they all feel a bit muted. Improved as I swished it around a bit in the mouth.

In times where fake Japanese whisky is flooding the market, it is refreshing to have malts like Akashi. Originally a sake producer, Eigashima built White Oak Distillery in 1984. The nose of this single malt is very Japanese: polite, elegant and restrained. Yeast dough, maple syrup and shortbread mix with anise, lime and hints of baked apple. Honey-sweet and full-bodied in the arrival, the taste develops gingery and oaky with matcha green tea, juniper and sour berries. Licorice, fresh herbs and fading tannins mark the substantial finish. What a pleasant surprise! RATING: 3.5/5.0 stars ≙ 84 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE

An intense, single malt Japanese whisky from the Akashi range, produced by White Oak in Hyogo just west of Kobe & aged 5 years in an assortment of casks: ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, ex-Brandy, ex-Wine, ex-Shochu & new American oak. It has a candy sweet birth filled with notes of fruit, malt, spice, vanilla & dried apricots; while a light life with notes of spice, malt, watery toffee, fruit & a touch of herb; that led to a quick death with notes of spice, malt & sawdust. October 2017 / July 2019 / December 2020 / August 2022