Hakushu 12 Year
- Distillery: Hakushu (owned by Suntory)
- Spirit: Single Malt Whisky
- Aged: 12 years
- Proof: 86
- Purchase Price: $129.99
From The Distiller:
“From Suntory’s mountain forest distillery, nestled deep in Mt. Kaikomagatake, Suntory Single Malt Whisky Hakushu® is the fresh and gently smoky single malt whisky with herbal notes that is the revelation of Japanese single malts.”
Review & Score
Nose: Very light and earthy. It has a mossy and nutty profile with some floral and honey tones at the end.
Palate: It has a very unique body. Leafy and smoky like a bonfire in a strangely pleasing way. There is an undertone of lime and butter that plays throughout the tasting. As with the nose, the flavors are delicate, almost fighting to come out of the background all at once.
Finish: The taste pans out into a nice bit of green tea, pear, lemon and some amount of sweet flower. When everything else is gone, a pleasant sweet smoky flavor lingers.
Conclusion: The flavor profile was robust and on point, as you would expect with a low proof, there wasn’t as much heat. We got bold earthy flavors, nice strong smoke, and light notes of sweet and floral. Overall, I’d say it would be nice to pair with a bold dish or have on the back-end of a tasting to give an extra punch when your taste buds are beginning to run flavors together.
Greg Sinadinos started his spirits journey writing a whiskey periodical for Fine Tobacco NYC Magazine. He began answering review requests under a social media page he named “Whiskey Culture,” which quickly merged with Greg’s passion for connecting with others and his interest in history.
Today, Greg travels the country not just looking for great whiskey, but also exploring the history and individuals that the whiskey community is founded upon. He has authored “Whiskey History From Around The World” and is the host of “The Rickhouse” web series.
