From one blend to another. Where the last article was a Scotch blend (all from Scotland but a mix of malt and grain) this is a blend of all Japanese whiskies.What that means though goodness knows. For background on what the Japanese regulations are, were or is going to be then check out among other great articles this post https://www.winemag.com/2021/03/11/japanese-whisky-regulations-change/
All the bottles are sold out now so this is kind of academic this article but not to worry. I’ve started so I’ll finish..
A 50cl bottle would have cost you nearly £180 and would be 47.7% ABV in strength. The label would also look pretty cool on a shelf but just to circle back to that price; that would be £250 normalised to a normal 70cl bottle but in 2022 no doubt you would be closer to £300. That to me is a pretty big problem because I don’t see any value at these kind of prices in Japanese whiskies. Yes this is old stock for Japan and yes that is rare and therefore expensive but here is my problem. Japan has a large corporate culture and when they dove into whisky as an industry they did their due diligence and their market research. They considered their production methods and maturation policies and came up with a product to compete with their largest competitor. They looked to Scotland.
So why should I pay more for a “Japanese” 21 year old blend which may have 21 year old Ben Nevis from up the road? Don’t get me wrong, Ben Nevis whiskies are pretty great when I have tried them. No disrespect to Atom Brands but I can get a single cask, full strength Ben Nevis for under £100 for a normal sized bottle I don’t need to go into silly money to experience these kind of whiskies.
Tasting Notes
Colour – orange-brown
Nose – tobacco, toasted wood, vanilla and a subtle stewed fruits
Palate – chilli, more stewed fruits, vanilla and almonds.
Finish – long, interesting and a mix of subtle smoke, winter fruit crumbles and earth
So like I said what out of the above would you not see in a premium blend from anywhere else in the UK?
Malted 