Nose: Dried pears, malt, bran, varnish, caramel, popcorn. Quite oaky for one so young. Some leather with water added. A little incense with a lot of water added
Palate: Quite fiery without water. Dried pears, malt, bran, whole meal, salt, popcorn, caramel, oak, mango, cayenne pepper. Even with water this is one hot whisky.
Finish: Without water the overriding impression is peppery heat and some dry oak. Needs a lot of water to find hints of the mizunara influence(incense).
Last Word: One whisky that may have been better suited bottled at a lower abv.
Rating: 80/100
I’ve only had the bottle open for a week, but without some major changes given time to breathe, I see this turning into cocktail fodder.
The “heat” is kind of weird for me, in that there’s not a lot of burn, just a really off-putting chemical taste & aroma that persists in the finish. With enough water, it turns into a worse version of The Floor. The nose is maybe heavier on apple than the fresh, baking bread smell I get from The Floor, and it’s less sweet as well. That chemical taste really never goes away.
I read this review prior to picking up a bottle, but curiosity got the best of me – I really wanted to see how things were progressing after loving both The Peated and The Floor. Seems like a pretty big misstep.
I would have to say that your comments, after having mine open for a while, are pretty much spot on Nicholas. Maybe I wouldn’t call the taste chemical but I agree as a bottling, it’s a backwards step.
Interesting, Brian. I second your comment with this one regarding the ABV. On The Way would have benefited at a much lower percentage. Still, can’t win them all. If it was lower it might have been too low and we would be saying the opposite ha ha. I’ve sat down with mine for two weeks now…searching, or perhaps waiting is a better word for something else to happen. Well time for me to also put up my notes. Still considering if I need another bottle for down the track.
I do have a second bottle Clint but mainly because I am trying to have the whole set of standard release Chichibu in my collection.
Too bad that this could not be better tamed with water, which used to work with most of the earlier releases. I assume that you liked both ‘The First’ and the ‘Floor Malted’ better?
I actually like hot and spicy whiskies Pierre as long as there are enough other balancing elements. This one is reminiscent of The Floor Malted, again though, not as balanced. So yes, preferred both The First and The Floor Malted. There was a couple of experimental bottles at Whisky Live Tokyo this year that I also preferred.