Wow, an older Ichiro's Malt showcasing Hanyu. This could have been a reject from the infamous card series?!?! Interestingly I tend to prefer Chichibu over Hanyu.

Nose: seems heavy, tylenol, ends of a beef roast, ham? metallic apple juice, the meat-like aromas are more on the background, for such a high abv whisky it doesn't give out a lot or aromas.

Palate: dry, initial palate is grape jelly, mid palate becomes cool, sour wood, honey finally shows up, back palate has some light smoke, almost plastic, wax, caramel candy, strange I am not detecting an obvious vanilla/toast flavor.

Finish: medium to long, a little dry, a little oily, similar to the seasoned loin on a skewer, notes of honey, light maple syrup, menthol.

So different from typical Chichibu/Hanyu, because the heavy vanilla and toast notes were not that prevalent.

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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