Talk about blast from the past! 

We're back at it with South Korea's very exciting Craftbros who're fully underway in building out their distillery's offerings, expanding beyond their own full proper South Korean Single Malt whiskies (which are on track to hit that 3 year old mark) to also collaboration Double Malts - that is a blend of Craftbros' South Korean single malt with single malts thus far from fellow South Korean distillers to beloved craft distilleries in Japan and Sweden, to their recently added arm of World Malt blends (which it bottles under the Whiskybros brand) that combines again their own South Korean single malt with a variety of malt whiskies sourced from around the world.

And so today we've got the second set of Craftbros' Whiskybros World Malt blend - and this time though they've really hit it out of the park with a collaboration with the legendary Toei Animation, one of, if not Japan's most illustrious anime studios, known for their work on beloved shows like Dragon Ball, Digimon, Slam Dunk, One Piece and of course the vintage cult classic, Galaxy Express 999! 

Tetsuro is at the Center, with Maetel (Left) who mysteriously offers Tetsuro a ticket on the Galaxy Express 999, and the train conduction (Right) who is a side character that's more complex than meets the eye; with the Galaxy Express 999 train in the background.

This collab of course features the anime Galaxy Express 999, which last aired in 1981! The TV series had been adapted from a manga of the same name (the "999" read as "Three Nine"), and would even feature several movies that were some of the first to give fans this incredibly immersive experience that is popular with anime today - it's almost a given! 

Now for those who might not have watched the anime, here's a brief introduction as to why it's remained such a cult classic - and most certainly one that's worth watching! The story (inspired by the Japanese novel Night on the Galactic Railroad) follows a boy, Tetsuro Hoshino, who lives in a intergalactic universe where a far away planet, Andromeda, has created a process of mechanisation that allows humans who can afford it the ability to be indestructible and live forever - it is nevertheless incredibly expensive and Tetsuro can't afford it. Whilst the humble Tetsuro and his mother toil away at low wage jobs in order to afford a train ticket to the planet Andromeda, in a twist of unfortunate tragedy, Tetsuro's mother is killed by a gang of human hunters. In her dying breath, Tetsuro's mother tells him to promise her that he will continue to find a way to be mechanised and live forever, thereby putting a start to this hero's journey. In short, Tetsuro's anguish had caught the attention of a mysterious woman who gifts him a ticket to the train - the Galaxy Express 999 - where each stopover brings Tetsuro to a different planet, exposing him to the many lives of the others in this universe, and in so doing challenges Tetsuro to find his own moral compass, rise up to the challenge, and in the end decide that he would rather choose to stay a human in spite of his suffering! 

Not just another World Malt blend, Craftbros has added in their own touch of uniqueness, with their local Korean Sawtooth Oak aged Korean single malt added to the blend!

It's a great show with of course all of the depth and moral conundrums that you'd expect beneath an otherwise simple story, and of course as you watch on, you find yourself too better understanding the nuances and intricacies of human life!

As Craftbros puts it, just as the show Galaxy Express 999 sees its intrepid Tetsuro journey through the stars and time, Craftbros too finds resonance with its World Malt blends which brings together whiskies from all around the world and from far away places, which then require necessary time in order to develop maturity and depth of flavour. And thus it is this journey and the patient wait that brings about balance - "When different journeys meet and understand each other, the taste of whisky is completed and finished as one. Craft Bros' Galaxy Express 999 World Malt Whisky is not the end station but the beginning of a new journey."

A great choice by the folks at Craftbros!

We had a blast with the first set of Whiskybros World Malt blends that featured the iconic labels from LIFE Magazine, and so we're really excited for this one!

Let's go!

Whisky Review: Galaxy Express 999 x Whiskybros 50 First Departure Blended Malt Whisky World Malt (크래프트브로스 x 은하철도999 50 퍼스트 디파처 위스키)

The first of the set is named First Departure, and is bottled at 50% ABV, and is a blend of Bourbon cask aged Scotch whisky and Craftbros' own Madeira cask aged Korean single malt.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: Aroma comes across sweet and richly textured with a mellow, rounded sweetness that still feels dense and weighty. Opens with a fresh, lifted top layer from white florals and alongside that sits a faint, lager-like herbal edge that reminds me of Saaz hops. The main impression is a thick, juicy cereal sweetness that carries real substance, with a soft, sticky feel coming from marshmallow and vanilla. A creamy, lightly caramelised banana follows and then some caramel popcorn, then a deeper, darker sweetness shows up as brown sugar and gula melaka. Gentle nuttiness sits underneath, with a lightly toasted richness of pine nuts and other soft toasted nuts. There’s a fresh thread with a clean, growing brightness of grapefruit pith, ripe nectarines, clear apple juice and green muscat grapes. As it sits, a cool freshness of mint and there’s a warming, dry spice tinge from nutmeg that rounds off the nose. The sweetness stays consistent the whole time, consistently holding the same nectary intensity.

Taste: Lands rich and very oily, with a dense mouthfeel that coats quickly with a warm and steady profile. A smooth, familiar sweetness arrives first, driven by vanilla, then it broadens into baked fruit, with a soft, cooked apple note that brings in baking spices. The spice presence builds into a fuller, warming profile that feels like a heavily cinnamoned chai tea latte, with a dry, crumbly spice bite that reads like some ginger snaps. There’s a clear baked-goods character running through the middle, with a buttery, glazed sweetness that feels like butterscotch-coated buns. As it opens up, a gentle dried-fruit chewiness appears from dried apricots, with cinnamon returning as the main spice thread.

Finish: Runs long and keeps the sweetness going and on, with a lingering, sticky depth from gula melaka and honey. Soft caramel notes stay on the tongue with a warming prickle from ginger spice. Towards the back end, a faint earthy dryness develops from roasted peanut skins and there’s a small leathery edge that gives it a slightly more mature feel. Right at the end, a light dustiness shows up, reading like a dry oak grip that just hints at the European oak influence.

My Thoughts

This feels very deliberate in how mellow and richly flavoured it is at the same time. The profile stays firmly in the softer register, centred on creamy sweetness, ripe fruit and thick cereal notes, but it still comes through with real weight and density; the richness coming from how concentrated those mellow flavours are. It then steadily evolves while retaining a soft sweetness from the nose through to the finish without losing definition.

It's sweet but not simply so, the sweetness moving between vanilla and marshmallow, clear apple and nectarine-like fruit and muscat grape brightness, before settling into deeper and more exotic gula melaka, brown sugar and caramelised, baked-goods tones. The faint hop-like herbal lift on the nose is a nice detail that seems to carry through in quite a number of other Craftbros whiskies for me.

The oily texture helps the flavours stay cohesive and the finish carries that same sweet density for a long time before tightening gently with a late, dry edge from oak and roasted nut skin.

Whisky Review: Galaxy Express 999 x Whiskybros 52 Long Journey Blended Malt Whisky World Malt (크래프트브로스 x 은하철도999 52 롱 저니 위스키)

The second of the set is named Long Journey, and is bottled at 52% ABV, and is a blend of Bourbon cask aged Scotch and Craftbros' Korean single malt whisky aged in casks made from Korean Sawtooth Oak (굴참나무) - very unique! Definitely loving the choice of using local varieties of oak here!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: It starts with a firmer, drier feel in the aroma, with a slight bucolic edge and some grip that gives it structure. Opens with some black pepper alongside a more herbal, slightly vegetal tone, cedar and dried hay with a distinctive citrus flicker of Belgian witbier complete with a bitter orange and coriander seeds. While the First Departure is incredibly formal and polite, here, the nose gains sweetness and intensity in a clear upward trajectory, with the esters getting louder and louder. Warm, roasted sweetness builds with Chinese sugar-roasted chestnuts and burnt caramel, backed by a gentle earthiness of peanut soup. The profile turns more floral and meadowy, with a soft, osmanthus jelly sweetness and a clean, fresh lilies note sitting around the edges. The sweetness continues running in a persistent thread, now carrying clearer orchard notes like apples, with a pale, nutty sweetness of almond flakes. A savoury, darker note appears briefly at the end that reads like black truffle.

Taste: It’s clean, smooth and surprisingly easy to drink for something aged in what I’d expect to be a more tannin-forward oak. Opens with a chocolate-forward profile - a dry, woody grip shows up first from cedar, then it shifts quickly into a fuller, rounded hot chocolate tone. A darker molasses sweetness fills in the mid-palate with a creamy layer of banana split ice cream. The roasted character returns again with more chestnut and from there the flavours are carried by a steady caramel thread, with applesauce on pancakes.

Finish: Continues on with the caramel with a light floral. A warm tingle builds at the back from ginger spice with more creamy milk chocolate right at the end.

My Thoughts

It’s incredibly impressive how this delivers so much flavour while still being very drinkable and accessible. Nothing here feels tentative or experimental and it all comes together very naturally as a well-integrated, fully formed expression with its own identity.

The nose is where the most unusual shapes appear, with that rustic hay feel at the start, the witbier-like bittersweet orange and coriander and then the shift into roasted chestnuts, burnt caramel and florals, with a brief savoury truffle-like note right at the end. On the palate, it becomes much more chocolate-led and cohesive, moving from cedar and hot chocolate into molasses, creamy banana-split sweetness, roasted chestnuts again and a caramel line that keeps everything tied together.

It retains an impressively clean, smooth mouthfeel and a finish that stays long, with caramel, a light floral lift, ginger warmth and a clear milk-chocolate close. The most unexpected element for me is how naturally the chocolate-heavy palate and finish follow after the more rustic, citrus-and-herbal opening on the nose, without feeling disjointed.

This feels like something that would delight even people who think they have already explored every corner of whisky.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot