It’s been a while, but as I promised here is a follow up to the post where I got a Japanese whisky advent calendar. To put this simply, the whole table lists every whisky found in the advent calendar in order with its notes and a grade I’m giving. I would say that despite the price, it was worth ordering to give a try to various whiskies in a short period of time:
| Date | Whisky | Notes / thoughts | Grade (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mars Maltage Cosmo | Fruity, smokeless, some hints of toffee. | 4.0 |
| 2. | Suntory Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve | Has a bitter aftertaste but not in a bad way. Citric taste. | 3.7 |
| 3. | White Oak Tokinoka Black | Kind of earthly and woody taste. | 3.6 |
| 4. | Nikka Days | Really smooth and also a little creamy. | 4.6 |
| 5. | The Kurayoshi Pure Malt | Quite citric and herbal taste. | 4.2 |
| 6. | Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve | Pretty woody/oaky. Possibly some vanilla hints. | 4.1 |
| 7. | Hatozaki – Blended whisky | Slightly sweet and really smooth. | 4.7 |
| 8. | Nikka Yoichi | Somewhat smoky and a little spicy. | 4.4 |
| 9. | Nikka Coffey Grain | Kind of fruity and sweet. | 4.6 |
| 10. | Mars Kasei | Really mixed tastes. Kind of bitter in the end but in a good way. | 4.2 |
| 11. | Nikka Coffey Malt | Kind of chocolate -like flavor and in general, quite sweet. | 4.5 |
| 12. | Togouchi | Quite citric. Smooth aftertastes. | 3.2 |
| 13. | Chita | Sweet or a little caramel-like taste. | 4.3 |
| 14. | Mars Komagatake Single Malt | Vanilla notes and maybe some toffee notes. Definitely one of my favorites. | 4.6 |
| 15. | Akashi White Oak | Kind of fresh and spicy. | 3.8 |
| 16. | Hatozaki Pure Malt | Fruity, just slightly smoky and quite smooth. | 4.4 |
| 17. | Hibiki Japanese Harmony | Either tasting a little bit like honey or fruits. Really tasty. | 4.5 |
| 18. | Kaiyo Cask Strength | Spicy and sweet | 3.7 |
| 19. | Suntory Whisky Toki | In general quite sweet yet has a spicier aftertaste | 4.0 |
| 20. | Fuyu Blended Whisky | Quite exceptional in taste so far in the list. Has really strong vanilla notes. | 3.9 |
| 21. | Kurayoshi Sherry Cask | A slightly different kind of a Kurayoshi than on day 5 and in my opinion a little better. Quite herbal but sweet. | 4.3 |
| 22. | Akashi | Fruity and kind of sweet. | 4.2 |
| 23. | Miyagikyo | A little smoky and has peanut flavors. One of my favorites. | 4.3 |
| 24. | Yamazaki 12 YO Single Malt | Really smooth and easy to drink. | 4.6 |