A couple of weeks ago, Zachys hosted 30 guests to a special whisky tasting at Ronin, right here in Hong Kong. The purpose was to celebrate the auction house’s largest foray into the world of Japanese Whisky to date. I had the pleasure of hosting the evening alongside with Jeff Zacharaia, the third-generation owner of Zachys, which has grown from a humble liquor store in Scarsdale, New York, to become one of the world’s greatest wine auction houses.
As a specialist in Japanese whisky, I had the slightly ironic but highly enjoyable task of selecting the scotch for the tasting. One of the joys of Japanese whisky is the sheer array of stylistic variation employed by the nation’s nine operational distilleries.
For example, Nikka’s Miyagikyo operates with traditional Coffey stills used for continuous distillation usually – but not always – reserved for grain whisky production, as well as with pot stills for their malt whisky.
That being said, with Japan getting so much attention for making ‘the world’s greatest whisky’ in 2014, people seem to forget the spectrum of Scotland’s palate. My goal was to find a handful of Scotch whiskies to stand tall beside the Japanese in their innovation, character or sheer drinkability.
Recently, blended whisky icon Chivas Regal has paid homage to Japan with a limited release (now extremely difficult to find) Mizunara Finish sold only to the Japanese market.
Mizunara, or Japanese Oak, grows in the north of Japan and is reputed to be soft as well as extremely porous compared to its siblings in the Genus Quercus. Although difficult to work with, it has extremely high levels of vanillins. These chemical compounds yield generous floral, coconut and sandalwood aromas to a whisky. Only small parcels of forest are permitted for harvesting each year because of the scarcity of the wood. Due to difficulty in sourcing the wood and the high skill level required for coopers to craft casks, it is not widely used and when it is, the cost is high.
Below is my tasting report for the scotch whiskies I selected for the Zachy’s whisky tasting:
Berrys’ Own Selection from Bunnahabhain Distillery 32-Year-Old Single Cask
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Vintage: Distilled in 1979, Bottled in 2011
Score: 97 Points
With initial notes of sea spray, Cohiba ash, and button mushrooms on the nose, dried roasted stone fruit and nuts build layers on roasted coffee beans to make a rather complex nose. The palate is rich and gently peated with only slight grassy notes. It is savory with a continuation of the notes from the nose and the addition of sweet and salty peanut brittle. This is indicative of a concentration that a single sherry cask can do to a whisky given the right climate for maturation. In the case of Bunnahabhain, the distillery is right at the mouth of the river Margadale, an ideal location to benefit from salty air blowing off Islay Sound. This was a special bottling for Whisky Live Taipei 2011.
Chivas Regal Mizunara 12-Year-Old Blended
Country: Scotland
Region: Highlands
Vintage: 12 Yr Blended Whisky
Score: 90 Points
This dram is a great display of what notes that porous Mizunara wood has to offer in maturing a whisky. However, the notes of banana cream pie, coconut shavings and raw vanilla bean are not quite in balance with the spirit itself. Even more interesting that is a very common secondary note that I get in Mizunara of a Gewurtztraminer-like orange blossom. However, found angular notes of black pepper that didn’t belong. That being said it is special stuff and, as a limited release only to the Japanese market, it is worth scooping up or at least giving a taste to if you get the chance.
Bowmore ‘Small Batch’ No Age Statement Single Malt
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Vintage: No Age Statement
Score: 92 Points
Bowmore is consistent and classic. Their style has wavered slightly over the decades, adopting more fruit-forward characteristics at times but it is returning the sea-spray and cured meat characteristics of decades before. This Bowmore is aged in both first fill and second fill Bourbon casks before being married and finally bottled. There are distinct notes of Pancetta, dried stone fruit, cinnamon and vanilla that all finishes with a fine saline note that resonates through a long finish.
Glen Grant 16-Year-Old Single Malt
Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Vintage: Bottled in the 2010s
Score: 93 Points
Big, bold, rich. I don’t have a lot of experience with Glen Grant but I have studied the distillery intensely since tasting this. Their output isn’t the largest and the distillery has changed hands a number of times over the last hundred odd years since its operation. Their current style is unabashedly round, full and true to the spirit that goes into the barrel without forgetting the vessel it is being aged in. The result is full bodied notes of salty peach cobbler, molasses, marmalade and even some sarsaparilla. The whisky isn’t particularly sweet but it is viscous and powerful, even if it’s flavors are slightly one dimensional.
Macallan ‘Fine Oak’ 21-Year-Old Single Malt
Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Vintage: Bottled in the 2000s
Score: 91 Points
In an effort to showcase some of the finest characteristics garnered from a marriage of whisky aged in American Oak Sherry cask, French Oak Sherry cask and American Oak Bourbon casks, all first fill, the Fine Oak 21 Year was released. The results are fine grained and with extreme length. At the beginning, coconut crusted candy bars, candied lemon rind and even a hint of Glayva whisky based liqueur adorn the nose and first impression. On the mid palate and carrying far into the finish, notes of finely sanded sandalwood, white flowers and Madagascar vanilla bean mingle at length. This whisky is elegant, fine grained and extremely digestible but even with all of that, it is just a little underwhelming.
Elliot Faber is the beverage director of two cool Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – Yardbird and Ronin – as well as Sunday’s Grocery. He is also one of the world’s experts on sake, Japanese whisky, shochu, awamori and Japanese beer.
