Style: Forest fruits, Peppery and Oaky
Nose:
Starts with a powerful herbal drum roll, vanilla barley, autumn apples and honey mead emerging afterwards. Black pepper fuses with peppermint and showers down on the whole parade. Fat blue berries leading fragrant tropical fruits, mineral peat going slightly chalky at the back. Clean, peppery with optimal sweetness.
Palate:
Bright medicinal herbs entrance. Fresh forest fruits pushing another wave of thoroughly stewed tropical fruits. Black pepper and spearmint firmly etched into the veins of this spirit. Flipping to the drier side, cool mountain breeze, mineral notes uncovered and earthy peat surfaces. Towering pine, smoke zooming in with the faintest echo of sea waves. Dry vanilla barley-malt staying till the very end.
Finish:
Refluxes of fragrant apple with Hakushu freshness, prunes and assorted fruits and a final touch of vanilla oak to give slight bitterness.
Thoughts:
Another complete display of Hakushu, each element gets to perform under the forest-themed parade. Nice and complex. Although I prefer the Hakushu 12 more, as some might find the pepper and oak in the 18 is on the stronger side. Barely made it to 1 star if you ask me. That said, it is a fresh and comfy dram.
☆ [Recommended]
[43% • Original Bottling • Limited Edition • Circa 2016 Bottled • *-]
-Esmond
WhiskNick 