The Calm After the Storm: Japanese Tasting

For my day-after-the-snowstorm whiskies, I chose the peaceful balance of Japanese whisky. Although Japanese whisky started out in the Scotch tradition, they can play around within the whisky rules, and I have had several unique whiskies from there. As a whole, they tend to be  delicate and well balanced.
 
I went for a lesser known distillery, White Oak, against one of Japan’s whisky giants, the Nikka Distillery. For Japanese whiskies, these are very affordable  - the Akashi from White Oak comes in at less than $40, although production is small, and the Taketsuru from Nikka is considered an entry level whisky for Japan at under $70. While the Taketsuru is richer, I think they both offer a harmonious whisky, where no one flavor takes over the others. 

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The White Oak Distillery mainly produces sake and barley shochu (Japan’s national drink), but started making whisky in 1984 and now devotes one to two months a year to the good stuff. It's a small production, but seems like they get enough practice.
 
Akashi Whisky
What I knew: blended whisky, 80 proof
What I discovered:  Of the two whiskies, this was lighter, very grassy and earthy on the nose. It had a woodsy, mossy, meadow type taste mingled with honey, lemon, orange, and floral.  With a hint of smoke to it, I taste the Scotch tradition, but still feel it has its own flavor. A refreshing walk in the woods. 

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​The Taketsuru is named in honor of Masataka Taketsuru, who established the Nikka Distillery in 1934 and is credited with bringing the Scottish-style of making whisky over to Japan. This bottle has no age statement, a recent development on several of the Japanese whiskies (and bourbon, for that matter due to a high demand that makes it tough to age the whisky as long.
 
What I knew: Malt whisky blended from several different distilleries, 86 proof
What I discovered: This had a heavier taste, with a hint of smoke, but something else – like coal. If the Akashi is more like licking wood or moss, this is more like licking rocks. In all the complimentary ways I mean by that. The sips had a charming way of opening up on the tongue like a bouquet of soft flavors- sweet, floral, lemon, and faint smoke.

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