Japanese whiskies Part 2: some great and rare ones


May 6, 2026

Japanese whiskies Part 2: some great and rare ones

(Nikka)

After the beautiful Chichibu and Shindo yesterday, we’re continuing our exploration of Japan in its malty, liquid form, also trying to track down more Chichibu, and likely heading over to Mars (but in a different way from that of the ultra-wealthy tech tycoons), and of course Kanosuke as well. But we’ll start with one of the pioneers rather than a Japanese new kid on the block…

Nikka Whisky ‘From the Barrel Extra Marriage’ (51.4%, OB, Japan, blend, 2025)

A version to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the famous NAS ‘From The Barrel’ from Nikka, created in 1985. This brings together malt from Yoichi and Miyagikyo, with grain from Miyagikyo distilled in the former Scottish Coffey still previously installed at Nishinomiya, an assemblage ‘married’ for twice as long as the regular versions. Colour: gold. Nose: we find touches of freshly sawn oak and vanillin at first, then little by little yellow fruits join in, apples, quinces, yellow peaches, alongside fudge and a little corn syrup. With water: arrival of fresh bread, popcorn, green tea, liquorice wood… Mouth (neat): once again a sensation of fresh wood, a little bitter. It really needs water. With water: it remains powerful, woody, rather gripping, like a marriage that may have lasted a little too long. Only joking, it is very good, but we hope Mrs Whiskyfun never reads these lines. Finish: like certain malts we tasted yesterday, the fruits and sweetness only truly arrive in the finish. The aftertaste is spicier, with some tannicity. Comments: a little woodier than the ‘base’ version, which I prefer slightly, actually.
SGP:451 - 85 points.

So long as we’re talking about the old guard…

Suntory 17 yo ‘Hibiki’ (43%, OB, Japan, blend, +/-1992)

One of the earliest versions of the 17-year-old, with the number 17 in black. Hibiki had been launched in 1989, also to mark an anniversary. We had never been the greatest admirers of Hibiki, let us be frank, the 17-year-old had always hovered around WF 80, yet we had never tasted this version. Let us proceed swiftly… Colour: gold. Nose: soft, beautifully fruity and floral, then come lovely notes of fresh plaster and a light peat. A thousand times better than we had expected. Mouth: similar on the palate, with a discreet grain and thus a rather present malt, still with fruits and those honeyed and mineral touches which, frankly, here rather evoke Highland Park. It is even more beautiful on the palate than on the nose. Lovely earthy and saline peat at once. Finish: not very long but perfectly balanced and rather very ‘northern Scottish coast’. There is no mention of Japanese origin on the label in any case. Comments: excellent, even if it has closed up a little. It would seem that even whiskies open and close according to lunar cycles, I swear.
SGP:552 - 87 points.

Wait, can one really imagine a proper Japanese session without any Karuizawa? There’s still plenty we’ve never had the chance to taste. Yeah, it’s good to have goals in life, isn’t it.

Karuizawa ‘Ambassadors' Collection’ (59.1%, OB, Japan, sherry, 2019)

A marriage of various vintages ranging from 1972 to 1999 and possibly the rarest Karuizawa ever because you can count the number of bottles on the fingers of the right hand of an English archer during the 100 Years’ War (according to a legend disputed by historians). Colour: amber. Nose: sumptuous, which was not entirely obvious given that there are some ‘young’ vintages within. A crazy wild mango and heather and fir honeys, then camphor and eucalyptus in a rather wild duet. We shall say no more for now. With water: shoe polish, beeswax polish, fresh mint, gentleman’s pipe tobacco, potting soil, morels… All this is so very Karuizawa… Mouth (neat): the power of a small aircraft carrier, even if that analogy has become a little unfashionable of late, we grant you that. Water is absolutely required, otherwise it smothers you like a famished boa constrictor. Or like an old Ténarèze at cask strength. With water: there we are, it relaxes, with returning honeys, prunes, very damp tobacco, waxes… Finish: truly very long, rich, almost thick, it is almost a miracle that it does not cling to your palate. Tannins of excellent quality in the aftertaste, around a very fine Darjeeling, chocolate and a saline touch. Comments: it is this alliance of complexity and coherence that impresses. Among other things… You see, we could have gone overboard, yet we tried to keep a low profile.
SGP:662 - 93 points.

A break is in order… Right, we’re back… let’s look for the opposite of K: something young, light and fresh… or at least, that’s the hope.

Mars Tsunuki 4 yo 2020/2025 (56%, OB, Japan, for Rudder, bourbon barrel, cask #5392)

They have used liquid ale yeast here, which is interesting. Colour: white wine. Nose: exactly what we had expected, a Chablis-malt, on chalk, yellow flowers and no less yellow fruits, with a slight preference for grapefruit. It is rather elementary, yet that is precisely its charm. Chablis at least premier cru in any case, perhaps on the smaller side of the Serein, opposite the grands crus, let us say Côte de Léchet, which we adore. With water: very small and wonderful tarry touches appearing. Linoleum. Mouth (neat): superb lemony and chalky purity. Have we already mentioned Chablis today? Chablis at 56%, that does speak… With water: superb, this time with little preserved lemons. Finish: it merely prolongs the beginning, straight as an I. Comments: we are very fond of this very streamlined style, of perfectly clear line. Well, we shall have spoken as much about Chablis as about Tsunuki, apologies…
SGP:551 - 89 points.

And so…

Mars Tsunuki 7 yo 2017/2025 ‘Uwate Nage - Komagate Aging’ (59.8%, OB, for LMDW Itinéraires, Japan, bourbon barrel, cask #3518)

Colour: white wine. Nose: well, you take the previous one, you add peat smoke and ashes, you give it all a good shake and there you are. It feels a little like a two-headed eagle, yet it works. With water: it has come together into a mix of soaked charcoal, ashes and limestone, with a slightly volcanic, basaltic side. Mouth (neat): more coherent on the palate from the first drop, yet as they say in certain sports, it rather hits hard. An extremely medicinal side before adding water. With water: and there we are, a fresh, lemony peat, almost gentle and now rather rounded. Finish: long, on lemon marmalade and ashes. A little eucalyptus in the aftertaste. Comments: we just find the unpeated version a tiny bit ‘purer’. More ‘design’, if you like, yet this peated one remains splendid.
SGP:567 - 88 points.

You know what, we never e.v.e.r. have enough Chichibu…

Chichibu ‘Casa de Vinos 15th Anniversary’ (64%, OB, Japan, for Australia, American white oak refill sherry, cask #7535, 267 bottles, 2025)

Colour: light gold. Nose: well this is a very gentle yet very characterful olive oil. The rest is probably hidden by the 64% vol. With water: fresh farmhouse bread with a few small candied fruits within. Mouth (neat): sublime, even at these lethal strengths. Orange peel, olives, green walnuts, angelica, lemongrass. With water: when the sherry simply punctuates a great malt in this way, it is magnificent. Oranges in full majesty. Finish: long, almost fresh, characterful, yet oily. Those touches of green walnuts are sublime. Comments: fabulous. We take this opportunity to offer our most sincere apologies for yesterday’s rather stoopid joke about our Australian friends who live upside down yet still manage to keep their whisky in their glass. Yesterday, we were operating at nursery level on this slightly wretched ‘blog’.
SGP:651 - 91 points.

“Never enough Chichibu,” he said… As for the 64%, that was nothing…

Chichibu 8 yo 2017/2025 (64.3%, OB, for LMDW Itinéraires, collection In the Wake of Silence, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #7492, 171 bottles)

Everything is aligned, every box is ticked here, and we rather know in advance what is going to happen… Colour: light gold. Nose: we immediately find the oils, certainly olive, but also grape seed, peanut, sesame… while someone has just added, with an almost distracted gesture, a touch of lime. But do mind, 64.3%, so… With water: this time we move a little away from the realm of great Chablis towards that of great white Graves/Pessac. We shall not however, no cheque having arrived thus far, mention any specific Château. Mouth (neat): rich, yet lemony, oily, yet taut. There, we have kept it brief. With water: it is almost a karate bout on your palate. Have no hope, you are going to lose, because of those bitter and acidic citrus peels, those magnificent waxes and oils, and that heap of clay, chalk, slate, oyster shells… Finish: one might call this an eternal citrus-led minerality. Comments: we forgot to mention the barley, which punctuated the whole from beginning to end.
SGP:561 - 91 points.

Shall we finish with a Kanosuke, what do you reckon? And we’ll be back tomorrow with more Japanese whisky.

Kanosuke 2018/2025 (57%, OB for Kirsch Import, Awakening series, Japan, sherry, cask #19466, 108 bottles)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: prunes and damson tart, plus soy sauce and even miso. It makes for a rather surprising ensemble, yet extremely coherent, all the more so as Iberian ham and marrow broth quickly join in, while never letting go of the prunes, nor indeed of the ultra-ripe guava. Ultra-ripe guava, that is quite something. With water: the meaty and fermentary side remains. Maggi, Bovril, and even Marmite. Do they have Marmite yeast extract in Japan? Mouth (neat): it almost feels like a rather crazy rye aged in PX, in the style of Millstone. Borderline genever, indeed. Some curious notes of rose and lychee as well. With water: it has become incredibly saline, yet also more chocolatey. All this is a little unusual and rather extreme, and what works quite perfectly is to taste it after the Chichibu, as they are the exact opposite in style, though not in quality. Finish: long, now increasingly peppery. Comments: it may not be the most delicate, yet what a spectacle it is.
SGP:662 - 88 points.

So, we’re changing tack and adding a ‘clean’ Kanosuke, at least judging by its colour…

Kanosuke 2019/2025 ‘The Heart Cut’ (54%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, for the Whisky Show 2025, bourbon quarter cask, 150 bottles)

We are not entirely sure what The Heart Cut is, but we shall look it up, promised. Colour: gold. Nose: a handful of Haribo little bears, another of jelly crocodiles from Marks & Spencer, and a glass of viognier, since we were speaking of wine. All this is delicately coated in custard. With water: an avalanche of fennel seeds, poppy seeds, cumin, caraway, and even absinthe. How amusing, how charming. Mouth (neat): the explosive fruitiness of Kanosuke… explodes. Truth be told, orange sweets rule the roost here and now. With water: it no longer changes, which is rather unexpected, although it then does shift more and more towards simple bread, focaccia, sourdough bread… What a turnaround! Finish: barley, vanilla, herbal infusions, everything has been tamed. Comments: in the end, we had remained close to the raw materials all along. Excellent.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

We’ll pick things up again tomorrow for a third, and perhaps the final, Japanese session this week.

(Thank you, KC)

Check the index of all Japanese whiskies we've tasted