Yamazaki ‘The Owners Cask’ 1995/2006

Review by Nonjatta contributor - Serge Valentin

Visit Serge`s website, the definitive Whiskyfun.com.

"Yamazaki ‘The Owners Cask’ 1995/2006 (56%, OB, for World Liquor Brutus, cask #5C3009, 401 bottles)
Colour: Mahogany.
Nose: Fantastic sherry here. Sure it’s a tad vinous but it’s so spectacularly compact! Walnuts, dark chocolate, blackcurrant buds, grilled beef, balsamico and espresso coffee. With water: gets very close to the ‘Vintage’ version, maybe a tad more complex (various herbs).
Mouth (neat): Ooh-aah! As concentrated as if they had cooked this one for three days before bottling it. Plum jam, blackberry jam, prunes, lees, cherry stem tea, caramel, orange liqueur, spearmint, cough syrup… What a monster! With water: it got really amazing. Dry sherry at its best. High-end tea, tobacco, thousands of spices, fruit liqueurs, herbs… Finish: endless but more on spices.
Comments: Maybe this is a tad ‘engineered’ but all I can say is that it’s awfully good. Sherry lovers should try to track this down, honest.
SGP:652 – 92 points." (Serge`s scoring system is explained on this page.)

The photograph is from the website of the home of Japanese whisky drinking, Bar Zoetrope.