Tasting Notes

Nose: Chinese herbal broth (ginger, liquorice, angelica root, coriander seed, lotus seed, Chinese yam) with chicken, aloe vera, camphor, shiitake mushroom, dried bergamot, cranberry sauce, soy sauce.

Palate: Flawless alcohol integration, camphor again, sandalwood, thyme, sarsaparilla, persimmon, sugar cane, ginseng, artichoke. Light sweet gamey meatiness like pigeon. With water: more sugar cane, thyme and sarsaparilla mostly disappear.

Finish: Tie guan yin tea or hojicha, lotus seed again, lentils, smoked plums, Japanese purple shibazuke pickles, fennel. The tea and pickles linger especially long.

Score: 94

Incredible. I have found Yoichi tends to highlight characteristically rooty vegetal flavours and this is just taken to another level of intensity and refinement, plus a layer of sweet-savoury-herbal flavour of long aging and likely presence of old sherry casks in the vatting. The nose bursts out of the nosing glass. Such structure and power. The unmistakable sugar cane funk (but with the sharp feintiness blunted) brings to mind rum. I'm very lucky to have just drunk 2oz of this stuff and have at least 3-4oz more to go through as I took over an open bottle for ~$120. For reference Serge rated this 92.

H.Y.