Yoichi 10 - "he had a bus to catch and left early"

I liked it. It seemed to have a penetrating nose, fresh with a bit of vanilla flavoured bubblegum. Tasted smooth and a bit caramely at first, with a touch of that bubblegum in there. It had itself under a lot more control that the Miyagikyou 10 I was tasting at the same time. The finish, though, was not up to the Miyagikyou 10's. It had a bus to catch and needed to leave early. I tried it with ice because that is the way a lot of Japanese people still drink their whisky and it was quite good. I find the ice often makes single malts get very harsh and crude, but because Yoichi 10 had itself so under control, it seemed to cope well with the intrusion.

Other reviews
The 2000 bottling of Yoichi was generally received well. On Maltmaniacs.org it received an average rating of 84/100 ("recommendable") from four reviewers. The 2006 bottling which I was tasting has not been as widely reviewed in English with only one review on Maltmaniacs.org, giving it 85/100 ("highly recommendable"). All the reviews below refer to the 2000 bottling:
Michael Jackson, Whisky Magazine, 13, 16/12/2000. 9/10. Jackson loved "the almost shocking hit of heavy peating." The nose was dry and peaty: "pronounced, astonishingly fresh." In the mouth, he detected mint, cream, orange and then "the peat surges back. Clean, sweetish, soft smokiness".
Jim Murray, Whisky Magazine, 13, 16/12/2000. 9.25/10. Murray said it was one of his "day-to-day drams". The nose was soft and peaty. The palate: "Immediately sweet and oily, with a chewiness." At the finish a "bittersweet balance borders on perfection."
Serge Valentin, Malt Maniacs and Whisky Fun, on a 2000 bottle. 86/100. Highly recommendable.
Ho Cheng-Yao, Malt Maniacs on a 2000 bottle. 78/100. Better than average.
Luc Timmermans, Malt Maniacs, on a 2000 bottle. 87/100. Highly recommendable.
Michel van Meersbergen, Malt Maniacs, on a 2000 bottle. 84/100. Recommendable.

(Please note the dates on reviews if they are provided. There may be significant variation between different years of a single malt brand)

Alcohol
Abv 43 per cent
Price (April 2007)
700 ml - 4,718 yen
180 ml - 1,180 yen