Reading the label is says this is distilled from rice and pure mountain water in Kumamoto, Japan, and apparently aged in barrels for three years. Rice? I believe that makes this a sake (whiskey). This will be a first as far as I know. Their website indicates that barrels used are: American Oak, French Limousin oak and Sherry casks. Ok. That is a good start. The color is very light, which is expected given that it is distilled from rice. The back label also includes a little story about Visu, an ancient woodsman, who wanders the forest seeking harmony that eluded his life. I wonder if the Japanese words on the inside of the label are of this story. Anyways, on to the show. Even the smell is more reminiscent of sake than of your standard whiskies, but you can definitely detect the oak barrel flavors. The first taste of it is interesting, it starts of like a dry woodsy sake, but as you wait the spicy and smokey barrel flavors creep up. There is a slight burn as it goes down, but the finish is sake'ish and sweet. It also leaves behind a nice warming sensation.
I am a bit flabbergasted, it both is and is not a whiskey. Definitely out of the ordinary. All I can say is:
The numbers: I vaguely remember picking this up at Costco for less than $40. However I can neither confirm or deny that statement. A quick check on the web has it going for $46 at Bevmo.
It reminds me of...ummmm sake?
Please comment below! If you think there is something I must try or something you want me to review, toss it in the comments and I will see what I can do.
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Professional tasting notes:
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I saw this at Costco, read couple of reviews on it, meant to buy to try, then saw it with an *, meaning Costco would not restock, so I picked up a bottle for less than $40 earlier this week. I am pleasantly surprised. Definitely sake-ish, with sweet rice wine on the nose and palate, but strong, like sochu, but also with nice oak in the background. Soft, but not exactly subtle. Paired nicely with a yakiniku donburi (grilled meat/veg rice bowl) one day and reimen (cold noodle dish) the next. Liked it so much I got another bottle yesterday. It's a nice... thing to have when you want something different to drink.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Ran. I agree it is definitely nice when you want something different, like when you get tired of whiskey (does that ever happen?). I will have to take your word for the pairing with the yakiniku donburi since I don't eat meat, but I can see how it would pair well with reimen, a nice heat element to a cool dish. I suspect that a more flavorful noodle like soba would go nicely, whereas ramen based cold noodle would be too bland? I guess there is only one way to find out. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
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