Nonjatta: The Owner's Cask for Shinanoya, Yamazaki 1999/2008

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Owner's Cask for Shinanoya, Yamazaki 1999/2008

Review by Nonjatta contributor - Dramtastic:

"The Owner's Cask For Shinanoya; Yamazaki Bota Corta. Distilled 1999/Bottled 2008. 56 per cent alcohol.
Nose: Marmalade, fruit cake, malt, oak, menthol, brown sugar. Sounds sweet but there is a bitter element as well. Water enhances the menthol and oak.
Palate: Cherry ripes. Blackcurrant jubes, menthol, nutmeg, brown sugar, bitter oak, marzipan. Water brings out a lot of hot chili spice.
Finish: Long, but a little unbalanced and on the bitter side.
General comment: Water helps balance this somewhat, adding milk chocolate and blackcurrant that fades to menthol. I like this more some days than others. Score below reflects today's tasting, which wasn't its best. I could be 2 or 3 points better on a good day.
Rating: 86/100" (Dramtastic's ratings explained.)

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Sample of the book here

Drinking Japan is a guide to Japanese drinking culture written by Chris Bunting, who founded and writes for Nonjatta. It has entries on some of the country's best bars, but it is also the first wide-ranging survey in English of the history and current state of Japanese alcohol, with detailed coverage not only of the well-known rice brew sake but of much less explored traditions like shochu, awamori, beer, wine, and Japanese whisky. The book ranges much more widely than this blog, and I believe it gives a much needed general context for the understanding of particular Japanese alcohols. It has been very positively reviewed by publications including the L.A. Times and The Japan Times.

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Nonjatta is maintained by a team of Japanese whisky enthusiasts living both inside and outside Japan. It was founded in 2007 by Chris Bunting, a British journalist living in Japan (online resume - chrisbunting.net; email - japanesewhisky [at] gmail.com.)

The current triumvirate of regular contributors also includes:

Brian "Dramtastic" - Nonjatta's whisky reviewing phenomenon. His reviewing is prodigious and the reviews are a great read. An Australian living in Brisbane and a well-known contributor on the Whiskymag forums, he is one of Japanese whisky`s most energetic advocates in English. Here is his scoring system.

Stefan - A composer, teacher and whisky enthusiast based in Tokyo. Stefan operates his own blog at Tokyo Whisky Hub, which covers the entire Tokyo whisky scene encompassing Scotch and other global whiskies, but cross posts entries directly related to Japanese whisky on Nonjatta.

But Nonjatta has never been a closed shop. Please get in touch if you think you can help out. Among the contributors over the years are:

AshDLS - A Japanese whisky fan currently living in Australia. He has spent time in Japan and has a talent for uncovering rare bottlings.

Ulf Buxrud - Author and long time fan of Japanese whisky. He published the first book in English devoted entirely to Japanese whisky in 2008.

Nicholas Coldicott - Writer for the Japan Times and numerous other publications. Knows more about the whole Japanese drinks scene than anyone I know.

John Hawkins - Japanese whisky quaffeur with some great tips on Tokyo's whisky bars. His website is here.

Daniel Mick - An English teacher in Gifu, Japan. Nonjatta introduction. Our man in the West.

Takeshi Mogi - An incredible gentleman who has been extremely helpful in my faltering attempts to get my head around Japanese whisky. He kept the Japanese Whisky Web (now no longer online, but it was the original Japanese Whisky website in English) . I talk about him more here.

Hasse Nilsson - Chairman of the Växjö Malt Whisky Society, one of the most active and knowledgeable whisky clubs in the world.

Nick Sikorski - Nick is a Japanese specialist and is a key figure at La Maison du Whisky of Paris, one of the two main importers pioneering Japanese whisky in Europe.

Taylor Smisson - The doyen of whisky drinking foreigners in Japan. Author of the now discontinued "Malt Drinkers Diary" and drinker of more drams than I've had hot dinners. Introduced here.

Serge Valentin - Author of the awesome Whiskyfun.com and uncrowned king of whisky blogging. Nonjatta introduction with explanation of system.

Bert Vuik - Dutch whisky enthusiast with a towering knowledge and mountainous collection of Japanese whisky (oh, and Ardbegs and Glen Gariochs too!)

Dr Whisky - Author of one of my favourite whisky blogs, drwhisky.blogspot.com.

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