Suntory Pure Malt "Hokuto"



Review by Nonjatta contributor - Dramtastic
Suntory Pure Malt "Hokuto". Aged 12 years. 40 per cent alcohol.
This has the black label and top. There is also a Suntory Hokuto blended whisky with a white label and top.
Nose: A dreamy mix of gentle oak, vanilla, cream, tropical fruits such as banana, papaya (paw paw) and guava.
Palate: Smooth and creamy mouth feel and basically follows the nose, with some white pepper spice thrown in.
Finish: Warming and of medium length. Spicy, oaky and herbaceous.
General Comment: I have loved this whisky from the moment I opened the bottle. Nothing changed tonight. It's been a while since I've tasted the Yamazaki and Hakushu 12 year old single malts, but if memory serves me correctly, I prefer this fruit from the same Suntory tree. Great value too, at about 20 euros in Japan.

Comments

JaredHowe said…
I've recently just finished a bottle of the Grant's 12 year old Scotch, which i loved. I'm still a newcomer to the world of whisky and I want to try some new whiskies from other countries now, to compare. Is this a good place to start? For anyone who wants to know more about Grant's they've launched a new website http://www.grantswhisky.com (disclosure: client)
Nonjatta said…
I normally delete commercial promotion comments but since that is whisky related I will leave it up. Please, in future, try not to use a forum which is supposed to be for discussion between readers for naked commercial promotion. It is bad for your client's image.
Anonymous said…
I believe that Suntory this April announced they were deleting Hokuto Single Malt 12YO (but keeping its supermarket cousin Hokuto 50.5). Shame because I thought it was a great dram too...
Yokosuka Mike said…
I couple months ago I wandered into an old corner liquor store in Horinochi (near Yokosuka) and snagged two bottles of Hokuto 12 year old. What a score! This is a fine tasting whisky that was sold at a very reasonable price. My only fear now is that I’ll never find anymore of this excellent pure malt.

Before discovering the Nonjatta blog I rarely went into mom & pop liquor stores because they usually charge full price; I would stick with the large discount stores to get the cheapest prices. However, now I never pass up a small liquor shop because that’s the only place I can find these hard to find whiskies that are reviewed here.

Regards,
Mike

Yokosuka, Japan
Atomas said…
Got this from my brother in Osaka, fantastic stuff. Definitely at least as good as a Bowmore 12yr.

Can't wait for him to bring some more! (He did send me a Yamazaki 10yr too, but I think I prefer this one.

Happy Holidays and stay thirsty!

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