Tag Archives: Eigashima Shuzo

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

Eigashima Single Malt Whisky 2020 Sherry Casks 50%abv

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Nose: Cherries, incense, vanilla, toffee apple, flambe orange, coffeed beans, BBQ sauce. The struck match I’ve found in virtually every sherry cask matured whisky from Eigashima/White Oak. Water brings out a savory note.
Palate: Cream sherry, orange candy, butter, nutmeg. Burnt toast, burnt euchalyptus, coffee beans. Water adds grapefruit. Medium bodied.
Finish: Sherry, nutmeg, roasted chestnuts, burnt toast, burnt euchalyptus, coffee beans. Water enhances the burnt euchalyptus and ends with some subtle oak dryness.
Last Word: All in all a fairly untaxing sherry cask matured whisky. It most likely won’t blow your mind but probably won’t offend to many either.

Rating: 82/100

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 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