Not all dusties are bourbon or rye. I found this bottle of Suntory Reserve Blended Japanese Whisky on the shelf of a Hollywood liquor store. According to the label, it was blended and bottled at the Yamazaki Distillery. After I made the clerk grab it out of the corner, he said, "this looks like the last one. We'll have to order more." Good luck with that.
Given that it lists proof only and has a tax stamp without any numbers, I'd guess it's mid to late 80s, probably right after tax stamps were discontinued.
Suntory Reserve Blended Whisky, 86.8 Proof (43.4% abv)
This opens with syrupy sweet malt notes on the nose, but there's real grain in there as well, almost like a malt/bourbon combination. The palate starts with a very light malty flavor, which grows in richness as it goes down, and ends with a perfume tinged finish; it's hot for its abv. This is a decent enough blend, very drinkable but not very complex. Due to the light, malty character, if tasting blind, I might have even guessed that it was...Irish Whiskey.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed our St. Patrick's Week Japanese Whisky series. Now go get your plastic green hat, and maybe pour some Hibiki into that coffee. Kampai!
4 comments:
It's been an interesting series, good job Sku! Looks like I'll be getting a sample of Hakushu in the next few days, looking forward to trying it.
I've yet to really get into Japanese whiskeys but your last few posts have increased my interests.
I'm actually headed to LA tonite. Will be in Santa Monica for the wknd then by the airport throughout the week for work. Any spots I should check out for lunch/dinner?
SteveBM,
What do you like and what's your budget? I don't spend that much time on the west side, but I do have some that I really like.
Casual: Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica has great Italian sandwiches; Los Chorros near the airport for really good Salvadoran.
Slightly more upscale but still casual is Border Grill in Santa Monica for Cal-Mexican.
Daily Pint in Santa Monica is probably has the best Scotch selection in LA.
If you're a big spender or on an expense account, there is a whole other level of fine dining: Melisse, Valentino and others.
Hey man, thanks for the recs. I actually forgot to check back and didn't get them until my last night in LA though haha. Ended up doing 2 dinners at one of my favorite spots in Venice - The Tasting Kitchen. Food is phenomenal and classic cocktails are fantastic too. Had an awesome corned beef sandwich at Gjelina To Go on St. Patty's day before day drinking Jameson and Guinness at The Brig like a champion then bouncing from the Viceroy to a dive called Townhouse that night, inhaling pizza at a buddy's place in between for it's alcohol absorbing qualities. Also did dinner at Freddy Smalls on Pico just off 405. Another big winner of a meal. Copa de Oro has gone downhill on my last few visits for cocktails but really liked a spot around the corner that I can't seem to remember the name of but I believe it's a woman's name. Also did my requisite pints of Guinness at Ye Olde Kings Head. Love that place for some reason, probably because of the cheap beer and fun crowd. Did one night in San Diego too and had some great sushi at Harney but crappy cocktails at Searsucker. Lincoln Bar was pretty fun though and had an awesome bourbon selection. Actually, pretty much every bar I went to had a great bourbon selection!
Thanks again for the recs. I'll be back in the fall and I'd like to hit up some spots in Koreatown so I'll be sure to ask you for recs again (and actually remember to check back this time!).
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