It’s very sad watching the state of affairs in Japan post the big earthquake. Being a fan of Yamazaki (and having tasted and reviewed at least a few of their core range drams before) i would like to dedicate this post to the proud people of japan, fighting the terrible situation over there.
Normally when you think of Yamazaki, you do not think about big peat (or peat at all), but this baby is a totally different story,and this time “heavily peated” indeed means HEAVILY!
The cask of Yamazaki 1993 – 2008 , 15 year old , single cask , 62% ABV, Heavily Peated
Nose: Oodles of peat, not very medicinal, but shouting! “This is Peat!”, i never thought I’d try such a heavily peated nose of a Yamazaki. It’s insanely peated. Some leather notes and earthy feel to it. For the Peat heads, it’s a great one. The 62% is well felt on the nose, and it’s quite alcoholic. some water is needed to tame this beast. With water I am getting some Ylang Ylang and barely under the peat cover.
Palate: Spicy entrance, with oily texture, quite mouth coating in it’s own special way. The peat avalanche is coming, with an enormous amount of peat. This is a powerful dram , with or without water. it’s a monster.
Finish : Pepper,Chilly, Peat, Spice. Ouch!
What a dram this is one hell of an experience. sensory, mental. Japan, we’re with you in those hard moments.
Score : 90/100
Special thanks to my good NL friend SDHK for the sample!
Hi Gal,
This sounds like quite a beast! What do you think…is this even bigger than something like a SuperNova or Laphroaig 10 CS?
Either way, I’d be tempted to buy a bottle of this if my budget allowed. I recently purchased a bottle of Yamazaki 18, and it’s pretty amazing. I’m very impressed with this distillery!
Cheers,
Jeff
Well, it’s not a Supernova, bur it is HUGE. and it’s a peat monster par excellence.
I love Yamazaki, everything i had form them was sheer pleasure including the 12,18,Sherry, and this one.
they know whisky.
Hope you can get this bottle for a good price.
AAAAAH. This is quite a beast indeed. Which cask is it, 3Q70047 or 3Q70048? I have the latter one and I’ve heard that the first one is even a bit better. I really love this one. It truly lives up to it’s name ‘Heavily Peated’. If you like I can post my tasting notes or send them by e-mail.
@Scotch Hobbyist: it is very peated, yet still different than the Supernova. It’s a lot less smokey with a strange fruity twist. But yes, it’s a lot bigger than the Laph 10yo CS, which is in my opinion more medicinal and maritime. You can read some more notes on http://www.nonjatta.com. (my notes are there as well)
Hi Johan,
thanks for the lovely comments.
Cask at hand is 0047 i will be greateful if you post your notes here, a guest post is a good option, how about it?
Yes, heavy peat, and well made!
OK, here are my notes. First some more details of my bottle.
Cask of the Yamazaki 1993 Heavily Peated at 62% vol.
Cask nr. 3Q70048
Wood type: white oak
Distilled: May 1993
Bottled: June 2008
Nose: lots of peat straight away, even when opening the bottle I could smell it immediately. Some licorice, wet moss and a little bit of salt. With a little water is all much more nuanced. Somewhat sweeter and maritiemer too. Delicious!
Taste: again a lot of peat. It really lives up to it’s name “Heavily Peated”. It is remarkable that when consumed pure at 62% it remains perfectly drinkable. The balance is just perfect. With water you can taste so much more. Less pronounced peat. There is a flavour that I notice and that I had never tasted before. Some calls it lychees, but I don’t know. My son really likes lychees so I recognize the taste and smell. It is fruity, though. And delicious! It is an oily whiskey (even with water) that lays a film on your palate.
Finish: peat, pepper (except for addition of water). Again some liquorice. With water everything remains much longer.
Comment: If you didn’t know that it’s a Japanese whisky, you’d never guess. Really. The tears of the whiskey run down in very thin lines. IF they get down all. They seem to stick for an eternity to your glass.
Score: a big fat 92/100!
Ah now i am salivating!