An 18 year old blended whisky from Japanese producer, Chugoku Jozo. Bottled for the Togouchi range, which are aged in tunnels rather than a warehouse, this is on the higher end of the age scale for their releases. This comes through on the nose and palate with plenty of expressive, fragrant oak notes alongside bright fruit touches.
Up there with the greats! Wonderful taste, nice oak, good floral notes with a hint of round and warm feel. Complex, creative and humble. Blind tested among Hibiki 17 and Hibiki Japanese Harmony, Toguchi 18yo came out on top.
Not quite at the Yamazaki 18 or Hibiki 17 level, but a solid choice if you are wanting to experience what the Japanese are doing so well with whisky
The nightcap for today was another Japanese whisky, this time an 18 year old Togouchi. The strong alcohol nose took a second to get beyond and then a light oak wafted to me. The taste started warm and neutral before sweet indistinguishable hints spread out. Easy Floral breathes lingered in the finish. I then added a drop of water to open it up and the sweetness made itself known to be caramel like or molasses. Clean and well blended.
