Hi all! I'm back with more Suntory whiskies, and this time more of their blended whiskies!
The topic this time is on the more modern versions of the Suntory Royal- Suntory's longest-selling 'premium' blended whisky!
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Can’t wait to try these out
Hi all, I'm back with more Suntory whiskies, this time more Yamazakis from Suntory's limited special releases- the Tsukuriwake series!
The Suntory Tsukuriwake series were a set of 4 to 5 special cask Yamazakis (and in one occasion, also a Hakushu), which were released in limited numbers in select years. In contrast to Suntory regular shelters' 43% abv (86 proof), all bottles of the Tsukuriwake series were at a stronger 48% abv (96 proof), which gave these whiskies a much more robust profile than the regular releases!
(For those more familiar with bourbons, the Yamazaki Tsukuriwake series is kind of like Suntory's equivalent of Sazerac's BTAC series, except they are usually sold as a whole set and only rarely individually.)
I've been rather curious about how exactly the different years' Tsukuriwake series differ, and as luck would have it, I've managed to get my hands on drams of the entire 2020 and the 2022 series! As these two releases had very similar set of whiskies, they're perfect for this comparison!
Shortly before the automod decided to send my account to the shadow realm, I had just finished the comparative reviews for the series' Yamazaki Spanish Oak bottles.
Time to pick up from where I left off- this time, for the bourbon cask Yamazakis of the series, the Yamazaki Puncheon 2020 and 2022!
Details in comments!
Hi all! I'm here today with more Suntory whiskies, this time some Yamazaki!
I'm sure many of my fellow whisky enthusiasts know of the Yamazaki 18 yr, Suntory's renown and very premium regular shelfer single malt. Some frequent (and lucky) international travelers may also know of the Yamazaki 18 yr Limited Edition- Yamazaki 18 yr's fancier and much rarer twin, only rarely available in Japan's international airports or on auctions and secondary markets.
Here's a little question: aside from the packaging and availability, how exactly are these two bottles different? Time to find out!
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I was recently gifted a bottle of Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu “The US Edition 2021,” and I’m trying to learn more about it as I’ve never heard of it until I was given the bottle.
I’d love to hear any background or opinions from people who are familiar with it. Thanks!
Hi all, I'm back with another Suntory whisky, and this time it's another Hakushu!
So here's a bottle I've brought up quite a few times in the past, and have actually tasted multiple times as well, but never written a proper review of. I've finally organized my notes, so here it is!
Details in comments!
Hi all! I'm back with more Japanese whiskies, this time a Hakushu! More specifically, it's one of Suntory's special releases in 2021- the Hakushu Spanish Oak!
2021 is quite an odd year for Suntory. The world was a mess from COVID, yet the popularity of Japanese whiskies kept rising. As such, Suntory made quite a good number of new products and special releases for the year, including:
Tasting details in comments!
During the period I got shadowbanned by the automod, I visited Japan again and had a bit of time to go around the Tokyo metropolitan area to look for fun items, and boy oh boy did I find more interesting items!
Pic 1 were more items from Suntory's 'Genshu' (cask strength) series. From right to left were a spare bottle of the 12 yr Sherry Yamazaki (I opened and drank my previous bottle), a 15 yr Hakushu, a *20* yr Yamazaki (didn't know it existed!). The leftmost small bottle is from Suntory's now closed Whisky Shop W., and was one of Suntory's last single cask cask strength releases, a 10 yr old Spanish Oak Yamazaki! I'm very excited to be comparing it against some of the sherry cask Yamazaki Owner's Cask samples I've accumulated!
Pic 2 was genuinely the most intriguing and odd finds I've ever gotten my hands on. It's a Suntory *Blending Seminar* set, featuring 4 separate mystery malt whiskies and 2 mystery grain whiskies, all of which at 53% abv! I'm pretty sure this set was originally intended to be used for a promotional event and/or internal use, but somehow ended up on the secondary market lmao. I have no idea what the whiskies were supposed to blend into, but judging by the labeling style on the bottles, the set seem to be from around the early 2010s. Anyone got any guesses? Let's hear them!
Pic 3 was one of those wishes were granted finds: an unopened bottle of Suntory Pure Malt Century 21 yr! I must've ran out of luck after finding this one because my account got banned for 2 months straight shortly after getting my hands on it lmao
Alright, I'm back to working on the backlog of reviews. Cheers!
Hi all! I'm back with more Japanese whiskies!
Since I haven't posted in a while (more about it in the rant), I've got quite a bit of notes to sort through. In the meantime, here's some of the two oddest whiskies I've managed to get my hands on: two of Suntory's anniversary special whiskies, released forty years apart!
Details in comments!
Rant (feel free to tl:dr)
Apparently, one of my past posts about a store & their shelves in May rubbed reddit's automated system the wrong way. That post triggered a massive response that marked all my past posts as spam, deleted every one of them, and issued a *site-wide* ban on my account.
I've worked on appealing the ban for about two months straight, and yesterday when trying to submit an appeal I realized it was no longer available for submission... which means reddit has shadow-unbanned this account!
I've been working on restoring some of my older reviews. Most should be back now, if anyone's interested!
Enough rant, time for whiskies lmao
The current weak Yen rate has created many good buys in the Whiskey market here but one stands out for the level of discount. Chivas 25 goes for $350-$400 in the states but I can buy it here on Amazon Japan for $170 tax included. Is this a no-brainer of a purchase? I haven’t tried CR25 before but have enjoyed the 18 year for its flavor profile and smoothness.
Been on a journey of drinking and collecting Japanese whisky (mostly Suntory admittedly) over the last year and had the opportunity to acquire this at MSRP. Can’t believe I own this bottle!
sorry if this a silly question… but what’s the process for buying samples at liquor stores in Japan? I saw the open bottles when I was there a few years ago, but didn't realize you could purchase samples to take away. Do you just go to register and say you’d like to buy some samples, or do you bring the open bottle to the register?
also, any stores you’d recommend in Tokyo or Yokohama, specifically for buying samples?
thanks!
30 year Hibiki for 600,000 yen
Hi all,
First time posting here!
I've got a mate in Japan at the moment, so I'm thinking about adding another bottle to my collection.
I'm slowly building up my whisky collection (photos attached for those who appreciate a bit of whisky porn 😅). I've tried the standard Hibiki and really enjoyed it.
I'm considering getting the Yamazaki 18. My friend can pick it up in Japan for around A$1,160 (approximately ¥116,999 after the 10% tax-free discount).
For those who've tried it, how does it compare to the Hibiki 21? I know they're quite different in terms of flavour profile, but I'm interested in how they stack up overall and whether the Yamazaki 18 is worth adding to the collection at that price.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
So, I was looking to sell this limited edition 21yrs hibiki but unfortunately I don’t have the wooden box that comes along with it as well as the certs. I’m in the Philippines and was hoping to know where could I possibly sell this at a good price?
Looking to buy some Japanese whiskey as a gift for my grandma, she's in her 90s and religiously drinks a glass of Johnnie Walker red label after dinner every night. I don't think she's super interested in switching it up, so I wanted to get her something that tastes similar but still uniquely Japanese, and something that isn't easily found in North America. Thanks in advance!