Japanising once more


April 6, 2023

Japanising once more

We have some Shizuokas but first, excusez-moi madame, monsieur et amateurs de whisky non-genré(e)s, let's have the Chichibu 'Paris' 2022 that we hadn't tried formally yet…

At Chichibu (photograph Chichibu Distillery)

Chichibu 'Paris Edition 2022' (51.5%, OB, for LMDW, Antipodes, 1900 bottles)

This baby came with a lot of different labels, all lovely, and was matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-peated Chichibu (not Laphroaig, hurray!) Colour: pale gold. Nose: you do get the peat, peat is pervasive and will permeate any spirit, even when in infinitesimal quantities. The end result is awesome, maritime, peaty indeed, fresh, with many herbs and aromatic spices, capsicum, pepper, rosemary, curries, cardamom, plus some sea air, shells, kelp… I would say it remains a peaty Chichibu (a self-blend if you like). With water: dazzlingly fresh, coastal, bladey, vertical, chiselled and sleek (I think they got it, S.) Mouth (neat): big smoke indeed, and stunning citrus. Looks like they have stuffed some of the casks with yuzus. Quite. With water: evident, smoky limoncello, of course. Finish: long, pure, lemony, smoky, only very slightly salty. Touch of soft chilli in the aftertaste. Comments: wonderfully simplistic, which is not an oxymoron at all. It drinks extremely well, but careful with H2O, please add only one or two drops. Not saying that because the world seems to be running out of water!
SGP:563 - 90 points.

Let's now have four Shizuokas, sorted by ascending strength…

Shizuoka 2019/2023 (50.3%, OB for Whiskay, Warrior Series, ex-bourbon, cask #2019-483, 52 bottles)

This one's not peated and was distilled in the ex-Karuizawa still (KS). Colour: gold. Nose: we're in a bakery around 5am. They've made baguettes, croissants, and tons of lemon tartelettes with a good deal of meringue on top of them. Exceptional nose, too bad we were expecting this. With water: more bread, sourdough… Mouth (neat): not-too-ripe guavas doing the talking for a while, while it would then get a little fatter (puréed avocado), just before an avalanche of creamy, sweeter citrus would fall upon you. Impeccable, I think it was a brainwave - you're never better served than by yourself, are you - to have this one after the Chichibu, as there are obvious similarities. With water: tops. Lovely bitter molecules, with an extremely small portion of plasticine, if not kerosene… Finish: pretty long and much more tropical, with mangos, pink bananas, even crème eggs (Easter is close)… Excellent bourbon wood. Now careful, in the original Bourbon region, in France (the Bourbonnais) they have magnificent oak trees but those are… French oaks, naturally. Comments: fab Shizuoka, at barely three years of age. I find it hard to give a very high score to a 3 yo whisky, but there, there's also 'fun' in Whiskyfun.
SGP:641 - 90 points.

Shizuoka 2019/2023 (50.4%, OB for Whiskay, Warrior Series, ex-bourbon, cask #2019-482, 49 bottles)

Colour: full gold. Nose: this one's a tad riper, greasier, with even tiny touches of meats, beer, fermenting fruits… In short it's closer to the wash, but oh, forgot to say, this was not the ex-Karuizawa still, it was their 'W', so the wood-fired still. This nose is clearly 'dirtier', which is an obvious asset. With water: there are also more reactions to water, oils, varnishes… Could be the cask just as well, but I doubt it, these seem to be bespoke octaves that are designed to do a very simple job (save time). Mouth (neat): same comments. Thicker, deeper, dirtier, less bright and immediate, more profound. With water: it's becoming philosophical. Exceptional camphor and menthol tobacco. Finish: very long, herbal and mentholy. Pears and varnish in the aftertaste (pars and varnish always tango well). Comments: there's even a little smokiness. We could spend the whole day discussing the respective merits of these two wee casks of Shizuoka, so close and yet so different, but we'd need the whole contents of both casks to fuel the discussion, which wouldn't make much sense in economic terms.
SGP:552- 90 points.

Shizuoka 2019/2023 (50.4%, OB for Whiskay, Warrior Series, ex-bourbon, cask #2019-528, 51 bottles)

This one samurai on the label is really scary, it's a kind of crossbreed between Predator and the leader of the French ultra-left party in parliament. Yeah, she's a she. It's from the wood-fired still too. Colour: white wine. Nose: this will be short. It's varnish from Varnish & Varnish's, plus vanilla pods and white vinegar. So very acetic, estery, almost bacterial, it's to be wondered if they do not use dunder. Olives. With water: gets a little gentler, on banana cake. Mouth (neat): superlatively dirty now, and yet ueber-clean, and yet dirty, and yet… Banana wine, green olives, model paint, samphire, dirty rum, lamp oil… With water: I would have never imagined that rotting bananas and black olives would get along this well in something that's not Jamaican or Guyanian or Trinidadian (or, yeah, Fijian). Finish: long, still varnishy, saltier than the others, fermentary and let's say it, umami-y. Comments: this one reminds me of my favourite LedZep tune, Achilles Last Stand. I know I should have mentioned Sakamoto (RIP – I wrote these lousy lines before the news of his passing reached me, how sad) or Hiromi instead.
SGP:562 - 91 points.

Shizuoka 2019/2023 (50.6%, OB for Whiskay, Warrior Series, ex-bourbon, cask #2019-530, 55 bottles)

Phew, this label is less scary. Non-peat, WS still, all good. Colour: gold. Nose: the colour is darker but the nose is extremely close to that of #528. Varnish, model glue, bananas, olives, esters, acetone and all the rest. With water: new plywood, glue, acetone, even a little ammonia… And more bananas, tons of bananas. Bananas shelter great (and sometimes lousy) molecules! Mouth (neat): bigger, even more extreme, also rougher and tougher, going towards cinchona, bitters, heavy turmeric… Love this, it's just that the previous one was somewhat better balanced. With water: tar, olives, plastics, varnish, lime juice, everything's to be liked. Finish: long, dry, a tad bitter. Comments: only wee issue with these Shizuokas, you need to do the handling of reduction with much care and attention, because they would tend to sink to the bottom as soon as you've added a little too much H2O (which is not much). I'm afraid they aren't very good swimmers.
SGP:462 - 90 points.

Gut feeling: these 2019s and probably onwards are even better than earlier vintages (2017-2018).

Check the index of all Japanese we've tasted so far