A wonderful friend #gifted me this 10YO @ShinobuWhisky! Thank you so much, @ReeceSims | @WhiskeyMuse, for this beguiling bottle. 🥰
I’ll be honest, I was quite apprehensive when approaching this tipple. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but have often wondered if Japanese Whiskies truly lived up to all the ‘hype’.
At the last Whisky Event I attended (well over a year ago 😭), nearly every booth with an exceptionally long queue, were Japanese Whiskies. Being from Scotland, call me biased, but I was checking out all of the Scottish Single Malts, before even considering another country, let alone continents, offerings. 💙
Well, here goes!! 🥃
APPEARANCE: intriguing depth of colour, hints of copper and finest Darjeeling.
NOSE: liquid dessert. Immediately, rich and sweet Sticky Toffee Pudding, with a generous drizzle of warm salted caramel. The subtleties of a bourbon influence, sultanas, marzipan, stewed apples, dense Soreen Malt Loaf, citrus peel, and then, suddenly, it’s Scottish Black Cake! 🤯
PALATE: wow! The paradigmatic description; Scottish Black Bun or Cake. Comfortable tongue coating mouthfeel, accompanied by the Szechuan peppercorn tingle. Dense fruit cake, vanilla custard, subtle hints of char (bourbon cask maturation), vanilla, and Werther’s Original. The labyrinth of complexities continues; the heat of white pepper, oxidized Bramley apple peels, honey, and multi grain @Cheerios. An enjoyable and prolonged finish, with notes of malt extract, sugary wort, and honey.
This dram paired superbly with @CoastByGlowbal’s Fish & Chip Sushi Cones, Salmon Aburi Roll, and fresh Aka Maguro and Beni Sake, handcrafter and presented by Sushi Chef, Max. 🤤
Well, that was quite the imbibing experience! This tipple is certainly piquing my interest on what the Land of the Rising Sun, has to offer.
Sláinte! 🥃
Maid of the Malt 