Origin: Kagoshima (Japan)
Type: Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing cassk: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Hombo Shuzo Co.
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: www.hombo.co.jp
Vote: 81/100
The last of the three limited editions released a few years after the first official bottling marking the distillery’s ‘rebirth’, compared to the previous one tried some time ago there is a little more clarity on the casks used, with a couple of degrees more on the ABV and an almost doubled number of bottles produced, 15,000.
Age, as is often the case, not declared.
Tasting notes
A nose of spicy and fruity tones, cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg frame nuts (almonds, walnuts), peach, apricot, plum, mango, in an aromatic potpourri of vegetal and floral inflections with a hint of vanilla, honey and custard in the background. On the length, a vinous note emerges decisively, diluted by honey. Young and at times ungainly.
The palate becomes more pungent, the sherry raises the tones throwing a handful of red fruits (currants, blueberries), blood orange, lemon, spices (veering towards pepper) and vibrant vegetal notes into the mix. The sweeter soul is cornered, only managing to peep out at times with a little honey, vanilla and caramelised apple. Rather dry, on the length it extracts some impressions of nuts and notes of polished wood emerge.
Not very long finish of red fruits, vegetal notes, spices, wood.
The addition of the sherry casks breaks the balance leading to a whisky that loses all the elegance and sobriety generally associated with Japanese spirits. It probably pays the price for its young age, which did not allow the casks to integrate properly, resulting in a forgettable dram.