Sake whisky – Togouchi Kiwami 40%

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We’ve tried whiskies before that have a decidedly rummy character, an extra anejo tequila with a whisky-like aspect, but a whisky with a clear unmistakable sake stamp? This was a first.

This was also my first foray into Togouchi whiskies and what a surprise. While blended in Japan and clearly catering to the Japanese palate (plus the demand for whiskies from Japan globally), the new make spirit is not actually Japanese.

Instead, the whiskies are a blend of distilled Canadian grain and Scottish malt which is imported to Japan, then aged in primarily ex bourbon casks, diluted with water sourced from the Sandankyo National Park and blended by Chugoku Jozo‘s master blenders in Hiroshima prefecture.

What adds to the mystique is most (apparently not all!) Togouchi whisky is aged in barrels stored in a 361 meters long tunnel that was built for a railway in the 1970s but never used. This unique warehouse near the town of Togouchi boasts that it can maintain an optimal constant temperature around 14°C and 80% humidity.

As for the whisky we sampled, ‘Kawami’ means ‘supreme’ (or ‘height’) and was created as a limited edition non-peated expression for the French market.

Togouchi Kiwami

Togouchi Kiwami 40%

What did we find?

  • Nose – Very mild, think camomile tea or flowers, soft and gentle
  • Palate – Not nearly as smooth as the nose suggested, had a raw ‘new make spirit’ feel yet oddly solid for a whisky that had such a light, bright nose. Some found the in your face ‘alcohol’ content a bit off-putting. For others the grain element was simply too pronounced.
  • Finish – Was there one? We certainly didn’t find any

As we debated and attempted to distill the character of this unusual blend, we kept thinking of sake. No surprise, the Chogoku Jozo folks are better known for their sake and shochu with the Kawami specifically, in our ever so humble opinion, coming across as a whisky masquerading as sake.

In fact, when we were ready to move on to our next whisky, a few knocked it back like a shot and went “Wow!” Declaring this is THE way to have Togouchi Kawami.

PS… our host admitted to being a bit disappointed with the Kawami and pulled out a different Togouchi expression (suspect it was the Togouchi Premium) that was silky smooth, soft and an utter delight.

Want to learn more?

Other whiskies sampled during our far east evening in Mumbai:

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Far east evening – Togouchi, Nikka, Yoichi + Kavalan

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It is always a treat to peak into someone’s private whisky collection… even better when there is an opportunity to sample in a convivial atmosphere with others keen to explore.

On a sultry monsoon evening in Mumbai I found myself in Colaba entering a gorgeous home with a plot afoot to do a whisky tasting with a decidedly East Asian  theme…

Togouchi, Nikka, Yoichi, Kavalan

What did we sample?

Clearly the whiskies were sourced via La Maison du Whisky in Paris with some then continuing their journey to the UK… before making their way to Mumbai, India.

Want to know more? Click on the whisky links above…

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Tomintoul Trilogy – 10, 16 + 27 year

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Tomintoul describe their whisky as “the gentle dram.” I first tried a fleeting sample years ago and found the description exceedingly apt – it indeed left an impression of a rather gentle, soft whisky with little else.

So when offered an opportunity to share a miniature trilogy of the Tomintoul 10, 16 and 27 years? I naturally welcomed the chance to bring a fresh perspective and expand on my earlier brief encounter…

Tomintoul Trilogy

Tomintoul is from the Speyside region and located near the Tomintoul village in in Ballindalloch. It opened in 1964 and primarily use ex-bourbon American white oak casks for maturing without peat for most whiskies in their range.

What did we find?

Tomintoul 10Tomintoul 10 year 40%

  • Nose – New wood, sweet, pears and apples, hint of spice peaking behind, slight phenyl, camomile, dry hay, not strong cereals but certainly there with lightly toasted seeds.. after sipping and leaving to air, found slight banana toffee and curds, then vanilla
  • Palate – Slightly sweet hay, barley, with a sprinkling of sugar on cereal
  • Finish – Short, mild burn with little else…

Overall it is very gentle, pleasant however not terribly memorable.

What do the folks at Tomintoul have to say?

  • Nose – Hints of citrus, with honey tones and a whiff of mountain heather
  • Palate – Round, creamy sweetness balanced by gentle oaky spice
  • Finish – A surge of sweetness swiftly pursued by tingling spice

Tomintoul 16 year 40%
Tomintoul 16

  • Nose – When first opened, found freshly planed wood shavings, a meadow of fresh grass and heather, honey, flowers, sunshine, supple leather gloves, sweet…
  • Palate – Watered down tea, soooooo soft… took a while to realize still sipping alcohol
  • Finish – Errmm…. there really wasn’t

Huge caveat: Though still sealed, the miniature was missing a chunk of whisky so clearly something went wrong… the peculiarly flat and watered down quality were likely linked to this odd occurrence. Hence would not trust our tasting notes and give the benefit of the doubt there is more to this whisky than our experience…

What do the folks at Tomintoul have to say?

  • Nose – Soft fruits with hints of hazelnut and vanilla
  • Palate – Full flavour, nutty with spicy overtones
  • Finish – Creamy and velvety at first with a spicy finish

Tomintoul 27 year 40%Tomintoul 27

  • Nose – Initially a light burst of phenyl, resin, iodine then it settled down into a light sweetness with subtle figs, a hint of herbs, sweet basil and spearmint, then a sharper undertone of bitter tumeric… after sipping and left alone for some time discerned vanilla, caramel custard, that doughy yeasty quality of a sticky bun or apple pie crust
  • Palate – Very dry, some spice yet also sweet, overall quite restrained with some cereal, hay, quite woody dry, interestingly would shift between smooth and sweet to woody dry then back again
  • Finish – Finally we have a finish! Lingering sweetness

Overall the clear front-runner of the three.

Apparently the folks over at Tomintoul have discontinued their 27 year so alas no tasting notes for this one.

After lightly tippling through this trio, would I seek out more Tomintoul to explore further? Honestly while I’m glad to have tried, this simply isn’t the whisky style for me.

While I’ve gained over the years an increasing appreciation for lighter more nuanced whiskies, I will admit to being averse to anything too insipid. Perhaps my palate is not sufficiently finely tuned and simply craves more obvious character and complexity.

However Tomintoul could be ‘just right’ for someone who prefers a light, soft and yes…. gentle dram. Eminently pleasant, no nasty negative notes, no surprises just sweet cereals with slight variation between the vintages…

I couldn’t help but equate each whisky with a season:

  • For the 10 year – Think a bright spring afternoon.
  • For the 16 year – Think warm breeze in a summer meadow…
  • And the 27 year – Think strolling in the woods with the first crisp chill of autumn.

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“I don’t collect stamps” – Raiding a whisky collection

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A friend in Winnipeg quite aptly quipped “I don’t collect stamps!”

Nope… that he does not indeed.

Instead, he has a rather eclectic whisky collection gathered from jaunts around the world with his partner… from the dead of a Winnipeg winter to adventurous travels all around Asia… invariably a bottle or two winds its way back to the prairies to join the collection.

Winnipeg Whisky Collection

Winnipeg Whisky Collection

Naturally I shamelessly raided the whisky cabinet and also a couple from other sources too.

Here’s what I managed to ‘score’ from my recent trip to Winnipeg:

Winnipeg Whisky Stash

Winnipeg Whisky Stash

Some may recall last year’s Canadian samples score from my aunt and uncle who run a whisky club in Fort Frances, Ontario. It was such a welcome bonus to try whiskies I likely would not have otherwise managed to acquire.

Just like tasting groups are a terrific way to try more than you can personally buy, sharing samples is a wonderful way to discover whiskies too.

I’m looking forward to tasting these whiskies, remembering the kind souls who shared their tipple or two!

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European Tour – Slyrs 51 NAS 51%

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Last in our Whisky Ladies European tour was a surprise bonus whisky from Germany!

The genesis of Slyrs distillery was apparently a bet for a crate of Bavarian wheat beer. After more than a few whiskies shared somewhere in the Speyside region of Scotland, Florian Stetter (former Master Distiller of Lantenhammer Distillery) bet that he would create a Bavarian whisky. Distilling since 1999, the 1st whisky was launched in 2002 and remains in full production in Neuhaus, now under the management of Florian’s brother Anton Stetter.

The name “Slyrs 51” literally refers to the alcohol strength of this expression – bottled at 51%. Launched in October 2015, Slyrs 51 is considered as the “big brother” of their single malts.

This bottle was sourced by a new Whisky Ladies of Mumbai member from her trip to Bavaria and may be difficult to obtain outside of Germany.

And what did we think? Read on…

2016-06-28 Slyrs 51

Slyrs 51 NAS (Lot 3453) 51%

  • Colour – Rich amber
  • Nose – Musty, quite bold yet oddly soft, sweet, sense of being quite syrupy, a bit of banana, hint of spicy chocolate
  • Palate – Much more powerful than nose indicated.. initially quite intense, sweet and bitter both with the bitterness taking on increasingly a nutty quality, some spices, then begins to settle in and becomes buttery
  • Finish – Banana walnut bitter
  • Water – Cries out for a generous dollop of water… No delicate drops will do here! And with water? Out came a yummy caramel aroma and once the spice settled, enveloped our Whisky Ladies with a warm sweetly bitter dram.

Of all the four European whiskies, this was the most direct and ‘in your face’. The very literal approach to the name was a fairly good indication that there would be few flourishes and flounces, just a solid linear whisky with strength.

Slyrs 51 is apparently made from malt from northern Bavaria, using a longer fermentation process, casking at a lower strength and matured in a mix of new American oak and ex sherry port and sauternes casks.

Here’s what the folks over at Slyrs have to say about their whisky (roughly translated).

  • Colour: Golden brown
  • Odour: Strong dark wood and malted barley
  • Taste: Full-bodied, malty-aromatic, complex aromas reminiscent of vanilla and hay
  • Finish: Long and intense, spicy notes

For more information, check out this article in WhiskyConnosr: Slyrs – Whisky’s best kept secret by Dominic Roskrow

There is also a interesting review by Benedikt Luening on Whisky.com: Slyrs 51.

Other whiskies sampled during our European tour included:

Overall we closed the evening feeling rather privileged to enjoy four such distinctive European whiskies during a Mumbai monsoon!

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European Tour – Kornog Taourac’h Trived 10 BC 46%

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A year ago during a remarkable tasting evening at The Auld Alliance in Singapore, I first encountered Glann ar Mor‘s peated Kornog from Bretagne, France.

Raving about the distinctive character of the special cask strength Kornog bottled exclusively for The Auld Alliance, I put the word out to our traveling Whisky Ladies to track down another Kornog.

Sure enough, one of our lovely lasses special ordered a Kornog Taouarc’h Trived 10 BC in the UK that wandered its way home to India.

It featured as the 3rd whisky in our June 2016 European Tour…

Teerenpeli, Kornog, Danica

Kornog Taourac’h Trived 10 BC 46%

  • Nose – Banana split! Fruity, caramel, vanilla, smoke, chocolate, nutmeg
  • Palate – Peat, bacon, buttery
  • Finish – Chocolate chaser, sweet syrupy with a bacon edge

Think banana split with bacon sprinkles! Sounds strange but is actually quite delicious. The overall impression was of smokey caramel in the most delectable way. With peat hardly discernible on the nose it grew more pronounced on the palate and blossomed in the finish.

It had the most remarkable way of going from a fabulous fruity nose to dancing briefly along the palate to flounce immediately into a wonderful finish.

This Kornog lived up to my hope of a completely distinctive character – in many ways it is rather roguishly reflective of what one thinks of about Brittany. One of our Whisky Ladies lived many years in France and without a doubt, this was her favourite whisky of our tour!

Best quote of the evening?

“How did you go from being a perfect gentlemen to getting my bra off like that?”

While there are few reviews of this Kornog and no official online tasting notes from the distillery, Jim Murray rated the Kornog Taouarc’h Trived 12 BC at a whopping 95. Even if you are not fan of Mr Murray, we would agree this particular Kornog is worth giving a go!

Other whiskies sampled during our European tour included:

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European Tour – Braunstein Danica 42%

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After the fabulous Finnish whisky, what next did we have in our Whisky Ladies European tour? Another Nordic whisky of course!!

And what does a passion for fly fishing and whisky have in common? Brothers Claus and Michael Braunstein from Denmark!

The Braunstein boys founded Braunstein distillery in 2002 to produce vodka, gin, snaps, liqueurs and bitters, rum and finally whisky. PS they also brew beer too!

They see themselves as ‘Danish whisky pioneers‘ and initially focused on launching a series of limited ‘editions’ (Library Collection) then cask strength playing with maturing in a range of casks from ex Calvados to Sauternes to Cognac to Rum and more! In 2014 they launched their ‘travel retail’ editions with an unpeated Danica (what we sampled) and Danica peated.

And how did we end up with this Danica? “It was the ONLY Danish whisky in Copenhagen international airport!”

Danica Whisky

Braunstein Danica NAS 42% (Unpeated)

  • Nose – Quite fresh, sweet, almost perfume, apricots, green apples, fruity nectar, sunshine in a bottle
  • Palate – More body than expected from the nose, lots of barley initially, fruity, pear, a bit chewy, yeasty, a little anise… as it continued to evolve more dates, raisins and dried fruit, some orange peel
  • Finish – Chocolatey goodness

Several ladies remarked how it tastes even better than it smelt. Others felt the opposite. Quite clear it had primarily bourbon influences then sherry peaked out more on the palate and finish.

However by the end of sipping, discussing and dissecting… for most it fell into the category of ‘nothing at all wrong but nothing fabulously right either’ whereas others found this Danish whisky simply delightful!

And that is the challenge… when your evening begins with something that really captured our collective Whisky Ladies attention (Teerenpeli 10 year), the Danica didn’t quite make a mark for all.

Perhaps the peated version would have had more oomph? Or perhaps one of their cask strength expressions would have tickled more ladies fancy? Or perhaps simply on its own, it would shine brighter…

None regretted the opportunity to sample however few returned to the Danica as their tipple of choice. In fairness, this is but the beginning of Danica’s journey and an early NAS travel retail offering… who knows what will be revealed in future with age statement expressions or further editions…

What do the folks at Braunstein have to say? Here’s what they shared on the bottle:

A great whisky for whisky lovers with a sweet tooth. The non-smoked whisky has matured in a selection of finest small and big casks. 

A smooth and complex whisky that caresses the palate with notes of chocolate and loads of dried fruits.

Well… small and big casks doesn’t tell us a whole heck of a lot! On the back of the bottle it then revealed “Sherry & Bourbon” casks with the batch number mysteriously empty.

2016-06-28 Danica

Here’s what others have to say about Braunstein’s Danica whisky:

Other whiskies sampled during our European tour included:

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European Tour – Teerenpeli 10 year 43%

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First up in our Whisky Ladies of Mumbai‘s ‘European Tour‘ was a Finnish whisky.

Introduced as coming from one of the smallest pot distilleries of the world, Teerenpeli Distillery is based in Lahti, Finland. The family owned distillery opened in 2002, uses Finnish barley, and have played around with maturing their whiskies in ex-sherry, bourbon, port wine and rum casks. For the Teerenpeli 10 year, they indicate it was matured in ex bourbon and sherry casks with an 80/20 ratio, first launched in October 2015.

None of the Whisky Ladies had ever sampled a whisky from Finland before and we were fortunate this was such a treat! Here is what we found…

Teerenpeli 10 year

Teerenpeli 10 year 43%

  • Nose – Sweet vanilla, flowery, barley, quite delightful and easy to put one into a ‘happy place’, honey, fresh apples
  • Palate – Smokey, peaty, brine, oily, yet soft, exceedingly tasty and delicious, then a little straw, toasted cereal
  • Finish – Pleasant, dry, warm and toffee sweet with a light cinnamon dusting, subtly lingers
  • Water – Absolutely no need!

It was a perfect whisky to kick off our European tour. Immediate exclamations of “Divine!” While only 43%, it delivered more than your typical 40 – 43% strength.

A few initially found the dichotomy between the nose which brought to mind scampering along a meadow with spring-like perfume vs the smokey, highly oily palate a bit disconcerting. For most this was the very element that brought such enjoyment as it it pulled off that amazing balance between being quite ladylike yet with substance.

I sampled it again a few days later with one of our whisky ladies who could not join our original session and found I enjoyed it even more. Simply one of those whiskies you greedily want to sip and savour all to yourself!

Here’s what the Teerenpeli folks have to say about their 10 year:

  • Colour – Golden yellow
  • Nose – Malty, see vanilla
  • Palate – Oily, pleasant vanilla with a bit of pepper
  • Finish – Warm, long with a bit of applecake with vanilla sauce

Alas, as it was a 50 cl bottle, a favourite of several whisky ladies and was brought out for a 2nd evening, the Teerenpeli is no more! Clearly a hit and I would both recommend others snag a bottle of this if you can and will myself keep an eye out for more offerings from Teerenpeli!

Warning – it may be a wee bit difficult to track down outside of Finland and Sweden, with the exception of the Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt.

Other whiskies sampled during our European tour included:

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Whisky Lady – June 2016

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Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

June was full of travels! Which just so happened to prompt a few whisky adventures with:

June featured three tasting sessions!

2016-06-28 European TourWhisky Ladies European Tour with four completely distinct whiskies:

  • Finland – Teerenpeli 10 year43% – A delightful whisky you’d love to sip and savour all by yourself!
  • Denmark – Danica Peated 42% – Interesting Danish offering…
  • France – Kornog 46% – Sexy, sultry deliciousness in a bottle!
  • Germany – Slyrs 51 at 51% – Quite direct, in your…

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Irish Night – The Wild Geese, Knappogue Castle, Teeling

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I’ve shared the genesis of this blog was a whisky tasting group started with friends in Mumbai in 2011…

We are rather particular about adherence to our pre-set dates and have been known to plan a year in advance who hosts which session. The evenings are blocked and the commitment sacrosanct…. except… when unavoidable things get in the way.

Like a change in dates for my Canada / UK trip which meant I missed the June session. Oops!

Teasingly photos were shared and exclamations about what a fabulous night it was…

(Photo: Ashok Gulati)

(Photo: Ashok Gulati)

The group sampled:

  • The Wild Geese Rare 43%
  • Knappogue Castle 14 year 46%
  • Teeling Small Batch 46%

Alas no tasting notes were made though apparently much enjoyment was had!

And when I pretty please requested to pop over for a wee side sample… was gently informed all three bottles were polished off. Double oops!

Guess I truly missed the treat this time however have no doubt it was a merry night of most sociable Irish malts!

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