Category Archives: White Oak

Akashi Single Malt Heavily Peated 1st fill Bourbon Barrel 3YO 50%abv

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Nose: Medicated band aids, sump oil, lemon cough drops, damp earth, tinned pears, apple sauce, vanilla.
Palate: Smoked salmon, lemon cough drops, balsamic and olive oil. Vanilla, custard, thickened cream, custard apples, damp earth, medicated band aids.
More of the cream and custard apples with water added. Medium bodied.
Finish: Lemon curd, lemon cough drops, medicated band aids, grapefruit. Vanilla, fermented pears, green apple skins. Drier with oak and menthol with water added. Good length.
Last Word: I’ve tasted a number of these young Bourbon Barrel Akashi. Maybe they should Heavily Peat all of them, as this is easily the best to my taste.
Rating: 87/100

White Oak Single Malt Akashi 6YO The Colors of Four Seasons Marriage of 3YO Sherry & Bourbon Casks then 3 Years in Yamanashi Winery Red Wine Cask #61592 for 3 Years 63%abv

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Nose: The Red Wine Cask influence is definitely present. Figs, prunes, blackcurrants, strawberries, rhubarb, mango, oak, a floral note. Soft and elegant for 63%abv. More of the dark fruits plus dark breads with water added.
Palate: Rich and the power of 63% reveals itself on the palate. Not overwhelming though. Chili, fresh ginger, pepper. Raisins, currants, pumpernickel, brandy snaps, Brazil nuts, rhubarb. Caramel, honey and chocolate covered Cool Mints with water added. Full bodied.
Finish: Long on raisins, rhubarb, vanilla, pumpernickel, banana bread, brandy snaps and some oak tannins. Water brings out Butter Menthols.
Last Word: Dang……this is good stuff! Reminds me somewhat of an excellent batch of Aberlour A’bunadh. Certainly at the top end of the best White Oak Akashi Single Malts.

Rating: 90/100

White Oak Single Malt Akashi The Colors Of Four Season 2015-2020 Hogsead 3 Years White Wine Cask #61191 2 Years 63%abv

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Nose: Quite herbaceous and spicy, licorice, cloves and pepper immediately come to mind. Also toffee, cranberries, red apples, acetone, grapefruit, leather, tobacco and a slight medicinal note.
Palate: Quaffable at 63%abv. Vanilla, vanilla custard, pears, red apples. Cloves, chilli paste, pepper, bay leaves, oak, sawdust. Water adds spearmint and enhances the herbaceousness. Medium bodied.
Finish: Leather, tobacco, charred oak, cinnamon bark. Quite dry but certainly not unbearably so. Water brings vanilla and butter to what is a long finish.
Last Word: An interesting and fairly complex White Oak Akashi.

Rating: 88/100

White Oak Akashi Imo Sherry Cask 3YO 50%abv

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Nose: You can easily make out the sherry cask influence even though the sherry casks previously held shochu before whisky. This is the creamy nutty style of sherry rather than dried fruits like raisins. Also grilled peppers, agave, vinegar, balsamic and a touch of struck match. A perfume note but not overbearing. With water the struck match is heightened.
Palate: Currants, vanilla, roasted chestnuts, almonds, cashews, the grilled peppers. With water some tangy citrus, salt, pepper and overall feels more rounded. Medium bodied
Finish: Vanilla, balsamic, nutty sherry, the touch of struck match and quite some drying oak. Decent length if you don’t mind the dryness. With water some pleasant mintiness.
Last Word: While it doesn’t blow my mind it’s still a respectable dram. There is something a little unusual in the mix which I will assume is the cask influence. Kudos to little White Oak Distillery for experimenting with so many different cask types.

Rating: 82/100

White Oak Akashi 5YO Bourbon Cask #1354 for Espoa 56%abv

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P1050446Nose: Fresh! I’d suspect 1st Fill Bourbon Cask. Wood shaving’s, apple sauce, bread dough, white pepper, rolling tobacco, pollen, lemon zest, green mango. Some bourbon like spice & hint of perfume a la Four Roses. Water doesn’t make a huge difference, maybe a winey note, stronger vanilla & florals/pollen.
Palate: Salt & pepper. Honey, vanilla, bee’s wax, green mango, fresh ginger, black currant jellies, lemon sherbet. Water ramps up the salt & hot spices. Medium bodied,
Finish: Bread dough, green mango, bee’s wax, vanilla, marzipan, almonds, wood shaving’s, clove, banana candies, fried onion. With water the warm spices ratchet up so much it numbs the palate then after a few minutes slowly fades to some peppermint. Good length.
Last Word: Probably the best bourbon cask Asashi I’ve tasted. Interesting & complex. A real surprise packet that I’d forgotten we owned and everyone in my Japanese Whisky group enjoyed.

Rating: 88/100

White Oak Akashi 10YO Old Sherry Butt Cask #105206 60%abv

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P1050403Nose: Maraschino cherries, incense, plums grilled on a Korean BBQ, brandy covered Christmas pudding. Oriental tea, coal fired copper, orangey bourbon, cream cherry, flinty.
Palate: Dark plums and cherries, grilled orange slices, coal fired copper, brandy, vanilla, blackcurrant jam, the flint, herbaceous oriental tea. Water adds more fruits but but of the candied type.
Finish: Leather, tobacco, coal fired copper, burnt orange, flint, sherry, brandy, mint cherry.
Last Word: 10 years in this particular cask seems about spot on. The overriding impression is something peculiarly oriental in nature.

Rating: 87/100

White Oak Akashi 5YO 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel 50%abv

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P1050400Nose: Kicks off with loads of vanilla, toffee and honey. Poached pears, maple syrup, fresh cut timber. Certainly not a shy nose and a lot of what I would expect from a youngish whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels.
Palate: Big vanilla, poached pears, virgin olive oil, sawdust. Almond flakes, honey, apple sauce, salt and some peppery heat. Like the nose, pretty straight forward. Basically says, this is all I am, like it or lump it.
Finish: Good length on vanilla, honey, pears, apple sauce and sawdust.
Last Word: Quality of the distillation is not in question but as per my notes, not a complex whisky.

Rating: 81/100

White Oak Akashi 3YO Sake Cask 50%abv

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P1050411Nose: Plums, orange peels, a floral note, floor polish, sawdust, manuka honey. Something strange like grilled lamb fat, damp forest floor, sump oil, Arnotts Iced Vovo Biscuits, dried mushrooms.
Palate: Pickled plums, rosehip tea, orange peels, Arnotts BBQ Shapes Biscuits, Arnotts Monte Carlo Biscuits, raisins. Water adds some nutty flavors.
Finish: Saw dust, rhubarb, plum skins, red grapes, peppermint tea, some drying tea tannins and the grilled lamb fat. Water makes this drier and more tannic.
Last Word: Tastes like a whisky and I honestly cannot says what influence 3 years in Sake Casks has. Maybe that the grilled lamb fat and peppermint tea? After a couple of weeks open, this started to develop some smoke and what seems like earthy peat on the palate and finish. I’m also enjoying this more as time goes by.

Rating: 84/100

White Oak Akashi Old Sherry Butt #5184 Aged 8 Years 50%abv

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P1050327Nose: Lightly sherried, oak, orange peel, cantaloupe, cashew nuts.
Palate: Again the light sherry, butter, honey(not uncommon in Akashi White Oak whiskies), scones, butterscotch, gingerbread.
Finish: Light sherry, butterscotch, cashews, mixed citrus peel.
Last Word: I prefer a heavier style of sherry cask matured whisky but if your in the mood for something lighter this one is pretty decent.

Rating: 82/00

White Oak Akashi Bourbon Barrel #1241 No Age Statement 50%abv

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P1050325Nose: Very light on fresh cut timber, pears, lychee’s and a wildflower note.
Palate: Honey, pear jubes, vanilla, fresh cut timber, a little wood spice, some oiliness to the body.
Nose: Honey, vanilla, fresh cut timber.
Last Word: As can be seen from the tasting notes, a very simple whisky.
Rating: 76/100

White Oak Akashi Single Malt Uozumi Sherry & Bourbon Casks NAS 46%abv

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P1050305Nose: Oloroso sherry, honey, charred oak, pepper, nutmeg, paprika, maple syrup, dried apricot and dried mango. A floral not that becomes stronger though not intrusive when water is added.
Palate: Some big wood spices, Oloroso sherry, orange, nutmeg, cocoa. Water adds some chili heat, roasted nuts and dried mango.
Finish: Chewy mints, honey, pepper, dried fruit and palate drying wood.
Last Word: Solid mix of sherry and bourbon cask whisky that can often be hit and miss in my experience and I’m a fan of spicy whiskies.

Rating: 85/100

Akashi White Oak Ariake Virgin Cask 5YO Oloroso Cask Finish 50%abv

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BAL_3887.jpgNose: Dark cherries, cracked pepper, Christmas cake, marmalade, creamed corn, black currents, balsamic, some burnt twigs.
Palate: A richness that belies it’s young age. Pretty much follows the nose but adds ginger bread, sweetened tea, nutmeg, cocoa, creamed sherry and tangy orange.
Finish: Creamed sherry, peppermint, sweetened tea, tobacco, raisins and the tangy orange.
Last Word: Nicely balanced whisky with a maturity to the package beyond it’s age and the Oloroso cask finish adds richness and fullness. I’ve given this whisky to a few people to try and they have all enjoyed it.

Rating: 86/100

*Note: Although I have not been able to confirm 100% the origin of the Ariake Virgin Casks used for this whisky, you can read about the Ariake Cooperage here at Whiskies R Us

White Oak Akashi Aged 15 Years 58%abv

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White Oak 15YO 58%Nose: Cherry cough mixture, eucalyptus bonfire, plums, brandy snaps. damp moss/earth, Blackcurrent Jols, burnt brown sugar, burnt rubber, lemon glaze.
Palate: Massive alcohol and hot spice hit without water. Sump oil, eucalyptus fire, cherry cough mixture, cherry brandy, cocoa, burnt rubber. Not for the feint hearted. Water adds some palate smacking tanginess a lots or heat to the back palate.
Finish: Long of kirsch, lemon glaze, eucalyptus fire, cocoa, all the previous cherry flavors, the burnt rubber and ginger bread.
Last Word: A wild ride!

Rating: 84/100
*Matured for 12.5 years in Spanish Oak Sherry casks and 2.5 years in Japanese Konara Oak casks.

New Release – White Oak(Akashi) 15 Year Old 58%abv

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Japanese Konara Oak Tree

The little White Oak Distillery has released it’s oldest expression yet. A 15 year old single malt that spent 12.5 years in Spanish Oak Sherry Casks then 2.5 years in Japanese Konara(Quercus Serrata) Oak Casks. Of course you are all familiar with Konara Oak aren’t you? Yeh thought not, me either. This is the first time that I know of, that this type of Japanese Oak Cask has been used to mature whisky. That fact alone makes this particular bottling a fascinating proposition.
Priced at Y10500 for a 500ml bottled and with an outrun of 795 bottles. I’m also glad to see that White Oak is sticking to it’s guns with their single cask releases and botting this one Non Chilled Filtered and No Artificial Coloring.
There seems to be a very small allocation for each of the retailers in Japan that stock this whisky, so if you see it and your keen on a bottle, they who hesitate most likely will miss out.

White Oak Distillery SM Aged 5 Years. 45%abv

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Nose: The colour is honey and the nose follows suit. Is this only 5 years old? No roughness at all! Also soft oak, tinned apricots, pear, treacle and fresh dough. Smooth and balanced.
Palate: Honey and treacle on crumpets, soft oak, pear, dough, nutmeg and ginger.
Finish: Nicely spicy, yet also creamy, with good length. Some mineral-like qualities and lingering………lingering smoke. Where did that come from?
General Comment: Really fantastic for the age.
Rating: 82/100

Akashi 12-year-old. 50%abv

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white-oak-sm-12yo-50Nose: Strong notes of vanilla, sherry, euchalyptus fire, burnt pie crust, overipe peach, burnt popcorn. A little sulphur, which works with this one.
Palate: Very strong flavours, even with a little water. The burnt popcorn is huge. Chargrilled steak, sherry, euchalyptus fire, malt, flambéed bananas.
Finish: Long, with malt, sherry, flambéed banana and then lots of ashy dryness from the various charred flavours on the palate.
Last Word: An eclectic whisky to say the least. Unfortunately some of the sulphury notes have begun to dominate over the last 12 months

Rating: 82/100

Akashi(White Oak) 14-year-old. 58% abv

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Matured in a Spanish Oak Sherry Cask for 12 and a half years. Finished with a white wine cask from the Yamanashi Winery belonging to the Eigashima Shuzou for one and a half years.
Nose: An odd (and strong) mix of coal fire, campfire ash, antiseptic cream, burnt rubber, mushrooms, potato skins, twigs, heavy dry sherry, cherry chocolate and caramel.
Palate: Heavy sherry, burnt rubber, mixed peel, campfire ash, cherry chocolate, brandy, menthol, grapes (red not white) and a good bit of ginger. With water, some bitter orange, twigs and honey soy.
Finish: Medium on dry sherry, campfire ash, mushrooms, twigs, cherry chocolate, brandy and burnt rubber.

Last Word: Well done to Eigashima for bottling this one non-chill-filtered and uncolored.

Rating: 80/100
*An alternate impression from Whiskies R Us