Nose: Peaches, nectarines, apricot jam, toffee, wood stain, leather, tobacco, lemon juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, peppermint.
Palate: Nutmeg, pepper, tobacco, wood spices, maple syrup. Opens up nicely with water with sugar glazed orange slices, walnuts, bubblegum, cinnamon, sherbet, cola, hint of peat.
Finish: Some pepper, earthy peat, bubblegum, wet cement and tangy sweet spice.
Last Word: Took about 18 months for this one to open up and reveal some extra complexity.
Rating: 88/100
This I have had at the 3/4 mark of the bottle, I quite liked it at this level. So it sounds like it may have been completely different if I tried it right of the bat? I have my 9yo single cask ready to review but I held back a bit as it has changed 4 drama in. This is a very interesting Hanyu, very non typical in colour and a few surprises in flavour profile, such as the lemon you found in this 17yo. I’d like to find this 17yo and have a full bottle.
Glad to have the nice big sample of the nine year old you gave me Clint , especially as I don’t want to open my full bottle yet. I can tell you even from a small sip I prefer it to the 17YO. Not by a huge margin, but I am a sucker for peated Hanyu and this 9YO is another example of how well Hanyu, for the most part, did/does youngish whisky.