The pride of my collection
When i saw this at Narita airport for USD70, I thought they mislabelled it. I have about 20 bottles of whiskey at home, leaning towards the peaty. This bottle is my prized possession, which despite its price, I save only for the most special of occasions.
Agree 100% with the guy with 30 bottles of whiskey. Coats the tongue beautifully, and releases mild peat, lovely caramel flavours and a citrussy twist at the end to bring a smile to your face.
Master of Malt Customer May 24, 2015
A truly masterful blend
I was fortunate enough to pick up both the 17yo and the 21yo on a trip to Tokyo. Even there, it's not easy to come by, but for whatever reason, the prices were astoundingly low -- though limited to the purchase of one bottle only. That's fine. The 17yo was 3500 yen (£19), the 21yo was 6000 yen (£32). Meanwhile, the Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu were all fairly expensive -- presumably on account of the greater name recognition. For example, the Yamazaki 25 was a staggering 250,000 yen (£1350), and was sold out. Even the 21 was 50,000 yen, and the Hibiki 17 (which I very much like) was 20,000 yen, so the Taketsuru 21 for just 6,000 was a no-brainer. I was able to get a sample and that sealed the deal, but really, for £32, there wasn't much chance I wasn't going to buy this bottle. The shop had just gotten their stocks the previous day, I was told, after being sold out for over four months. Like they say, timing is everything.
And not only was the Taketsuru 21 an amazing value, it's really just a fantastic blend. It has a smooth, pleasant viscosity when sipped neat, but adding a bit of water really develops both the nose and the flavour. There's a sherry influence I quite like (I'm a big fan of Glenfarclas, so I'm keen on sherry casks for whisky in general), and though it's hard to pinpoint what it is in the palate of the Taketsuru, there is something distinctly Asian about the whisky. It's just a lovely, lovely whisky, warm and spicy with just a hint of sweetness. It's super smooth, well-balanced, and pure pleasure to drink... truly one of my favourites, and I have close to 15 bottles of different Japanese whiskies at home.
Chad Merchant May 10, 2015
Smooth As Silk
This is my favorite Japanese Whisky! Nothing bad about it save that MOM is out of stock.
George Hoskins Dec 25, 2014
Consummate scotch whiskey doctor
i was introduced this 21 yr old while visiting Yokahoma and to my surprise found it to be not only excellent in body and taste but will rival most all of the high end brands.
Master of Malt Customer Nov 25, 2014
Great whisky
I'm living in Japan at the moment and was lucky enough to go to the distillery/museum and picked up a bottle of this. Fantastic drink!
Great tour of the distillery as well! Free entry and free taster of their 12 year, 17 year and apple wine!
Sipping on a glass of it right now!
Master of Malt Customer Nov 20, 2014
