The pot stills of the Yoichi distillery are still directly heated, proffering hot spots in the stills, which in turn gives the whisky some wonderful sweet, rich notes.
This bottle was part of a private collection - if you'd like more detailed photos just get in touch!
As a big fan of Japanese whiskies I really wanted to like this but even a splash of water couldn't calm it down and I found it way sharper than I expected, certainly more than the price suggests. Sadly I think that now that this line is discontinued the price they are being offered for in no way reflects the quality. If you take away the hype, it's really just a 12 year old, standard offering.
The best affordable japanese single-malt probably, and this Yoichi is so impressive (refinement, balance, complexity, length, etc..) that it can be compared to the best Scottish Malts & distilleries (..). To discover once you tried many different whiskies in order to be able to understand how this is a stunning whisky...Also it is medium-peated & softly smoky, with the distinct plum/sandal wood that is the japanese trademark.
