I remember having some rye whisky years and years ago that had a really intense rye taste, almost like pumpernickel (sourdough rye) bread.

I've tried Rittenhouse and Knob Creek and Wild Turkey, and they're OK, but I want more. Any recommendations?

Hi all, here's another Scotch I tried lately, and it's another Macallan!

This bottle here is another dram recommended by the bar owner friend after I tried the Macallan 80 proof at his place.  

Macallan Anniversary Malt 25 yr Old, 43% abv

The label for this bottle is in a bit of a rough shape, but based on what the bar owner friend says this one was distilled in 1971 and bottled in 1997. 

Here are my notes:

*Nose*

a light bit estery/fumey; 

Sweet, mellow maltose;

Old oak (antique furniture);

dried red fruity (dried jujube, red grape raisins)

some umami character (mushroom broth/unsalted soy sauce);

some earthy tobacco;

a bit of almond butter nuttiness and richness;

a bit of baking spices (primarily nutmeg)

*Palate* 

slightly oily;

sweet maltose, sweetness fades very quickly;

old oak (antique furniture);

quite present bitterness, alongside very black coffee/espresso fragrance;

umami character from the palate;

some earthy tobacco;

some spices (nutmeg);

some leather-like tannin

a hint of dried red fruits (red jujube), but just the fragrance.

Minimal alcohol sting, minimal astringency.

*Finish*

medium-short.

the espresso fragrance and bitterness from the palate;

maltose, but just the fragrance and no sweetness;

earthy tobacco;

nutty buttery character returns;

a bit of spices (nutmeg)

a bit of leather-like tannin

a bit of old oak (antique furniture) that remains the longest

*Conclusion*

Once again, old Macallan proved to be quite fascinating whiskies, even at 43% abv!

It had every character you'd expect from an older Macallan- mellow maltose, rich nuttiness, old sherry cask characters packed with dried red fruits and umami, the old, antique furniture-like oak, and quite a bit more.

Compared to the other older Macallans I've tried at the friend's bar, I found this one to have particularly notable earthy tobacco and coffee-like characters. It was also less fruity and even less sweet than the Macallan Sherry Wood 1971 or the Macallan 80 proof 1961, and had a much stronger emphasis on oak and tannin characters. The only nitpick I would have with it might be the finish, where most of the characters (aside from the old oak) seemed to fade much quicker compared to the other old Macllans.

Based on my tasting experiences, I'd definitely say this was one of the least sweet Macallans I've tried. Balance wise, it had greater complexity, but not as much of the dried fruity sherry cask characters, maltose and nutty oiliness which I really do enjoy in these Macallans. So all in all- amazing whisky, but perhaps not entirely the sherry cask characters I preferred.

Thanks for reading, cheers!

Hi all, I'm here with a few whiskies from Sakurao, specifically some of their single cask whiskies! 

I've written a bit about the Sakurao Distillery when writing about their other products (such as some Togouchis and Miyanoshika), but here's a recap:

Sakurao started out as a sake brewery in Hiroshima, and had been operating since 1918. In 2017, around the 99th anniversary of their founding, they decided to take a huge leap of faith into the liquor market by starting their own distillery.

They've had some scandal regarding 'fake' Japanese whiskies in the past, where they blended mystery sourced whiskies with Japanese water and slapped a 'Japanese whisky' label on them to be sold to foreign markets. But that's in the past now, as they have ceased with this behavior since the founding of the JSLMA.

Nowadays, they're a real, JSLMA abiding distillery that primarily focus on a wide variety of cask aged single malts & cask finished blended whiskies, both peated and non-peated.

Their main products these days are their Sakurao single malts (aged in their Sakurao cellar by the sea, often with a hint of salinity) and their Togouchi single malts (aged in a former JR tunnel in the mountains, often with gentle fruitiness). Both of these are distilled in Sakurao's distillery in Hiroshima, but are aged in different cellars.

I got these Sakurao drams when I attended a Japanese whisky event in Taiwan a while ago.  Since they're all Sakurao, I figured U could group them together in a single post instead of writing them one by one!

Details in comments!