Hakushu Distiller's Reserve

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve, 43% Aroma: The first nose - creamy candy, caramel, marmalade - (as if found himself on a children's holiday). Deeper - baking and almost imperceptible hint of smoke. Taste: sweets, candies, sugar candy and a few phenols. Finish: medium duration, repeating the palette, only smoked echoes are felt much stronger and come to the fore. Conclusion: appetizing, interesting, sweet-smoky whisky. Rating: 84 (n22, t20, f21, b21) In my opinion, samples of whisky Yamazaki and Hakushu without age indication in comparative tasting were a little more interesting than their 12-year-old brothers.

hakyushu dr 3.9 Grain, feet, more traditional styles More hefty and assertive. Feet, a spiciness that wraps around the mouth. green apple Fumi is also quite satisfied It was good except for a little bit of a youthful feeling. The more you eat, the less attractive it is. Slightly better than Johnny Black

Perfectly balanced, Japanese engineerd but in the good sense!Discrete but very pleasing nose. Wonderfull taste with Bourbon Wood perfectly comming trough without dominance, zweet but not too sweet, just lovely! Finish is medium but also perfectly diminishing follow up of the taste. Would have been a creaker if it was 46% abv or more, but unlike a lot of it's fellow 43% abv brothers and sisters I like it a lot! I bought a botle for 38 euro's, If I ever come across one for arround 50 euro's when this one is done I might buy it again.

On the nose: Peatiness (not as heavy as the lagavulin 8, fruit flavours.. sweetness and you can definitely get that oak barrel in there. Taste: Burst in your mouth spicy, aged wood, smoky and vanilla-ish sweetness Finish: medium.. and I could only feel the smokiness persist In my view, this is a great whisky for the price point and point in time (now). Japanese whisky prices are off the roof at the moment but this will not disappoint a guest or a group of friends getting together.

21 21 21 21 84 It is quite drunk, rounded, without flaws

The nose makes this one special

Vegetal and fresh whisky. white pepper and vanilla.

Single dram. Blind tasting. Regionals 2014_08

Nose Lots going on in the nose, fresh fruits (nectarine?), some caramel, freshly cut grass. Lots of fresh, summery scents Palate Fresh and clean as the nose hinted at. Sweet citrus, some pepper and oak, a tiny bit of smoke in the background mixed with a light mint flavor Finish short to medium finish. Not too complex but again fresh and clean. Some sweetness before the mint takes over

On the nose, spices, grass, green fruits! On the palate, it's simple, fresh on fresh apple-pears, return of fairly fine spices, a little smoke or dried grass smoke! In the final, simple, average on the same aromas. Effective on the dried floral green!

Colour 18 points - light oak Nose 20 points - barley sugar, kumquat , green apple Palate 20 points - rich , malty, orange peel Finish 23 points, warm lingering slight spice and dark chocolate

quite well done, from the level of Hakushu 12 years old (according to my memories), balanced to the Japanese. Lacks a bit of complexity but fits well just a simple and pleasant aperitif whisky

Really not bad

By Serge Hakushu 'Distiller's Reserve' (43%, OB, Japan, +/- 2017): 79 Punkte

The Hakushu Distiller's Reserve is produced from 3 main ingredients : A "young talent" : whiskies aged less than 10 years in bourbon barrels, called Lightly Peated due to their light peaty notes and choosen for their refreshing and pure characters. An old whisky aged at least 18 years in american white oak,  to bring richness and complexity. A young whisky very peated, named Heavily peated, aged around 12 years in bourbon barrels which will give a slightly smoky note. Bottled at 43% of volume, Hakushu Distiller's Reserve contains a few whiskys aged in sherry casks to meet the signature of the distillery and give complexity to single malt. from suntory

Typically a fresh whisky to drink as an aperitif in summer. And why not on ice. I never do it, but with this one, it would not bother me.

Young, fruity, vanilla in the nose. I do not taste grapes, spices, but the allegedly existing smoke. The aroma is milder, rounder, the alcohol decreases. Nice. An unusual malt for in between.

A light, grassy peat is felt. We are in the forest, a fairly dense pine forest on a rainy spring day. Heather, humidity, moss, pine needles, a flowing stream. Salty freshness in the background. Eucalyptus. On the palate, more peat and damp earth, limestone, it's grassy but not bitter, rather warm. A hint of anise and tarragon. Fairly long finish, the vegetal peat rises, notes of green tea and fairly intense bay leaves. This is truly a good whisky. I really like it. It's original, and at the same time quite complex. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-hakushu-distillers-reserve.html

Good whisky, easy to drink and very summery

Unusual taste, that I don’t get along with completely.

2nd Tried:- June 2016 N- Persistently sharp with acidic green fruits, green apple and tangerine peel. Quite closed, mineral, cedar wood, but the smokes is missing on this expression. P- A little young, but with substantial strength, good depth and flavours to excites. Sweet and sour fruits, butter cookies and caramel over supple minty smokes, subtle vanilla. F- Medium-long. Warm and spicy oak mouth coating. Dry and building and gum tickling.Lightly rough, but with plenty of good. *** First Tried:- Jan 2016 / Weighted Rate:- 79ptN- Exceedingly candy, almond custard and chewing gum on nose. But there are also fragrant of pine and smoke lychee. Constant nose warming a reflection of the grassiness, herbal and gingery characters. P- Soft and gentle with dusting floral and fresh mint leaves, rounded with tropical sweet fruits. A pleasant and basic drams, but are not to compared with his aged siblings.F- Unexpectedly long with crisp restraint herbs spiciness remains. A return of almond custard at the end.— at The Whisky Bar, Kuala Lumpur.

This is a subtle single malt. It is different, fresh and, I would say, definitely Japanese. Maybe a bit singular. The nose was very pleasing, but the taste disappointed a bit. Just a tad too young perhaps?

It’s OK. Certainly not as good as I remember the 12 being, which was my favorite among the Hakushu, Hibiki, and Yamazaki 12s. This has some very interesting flavors going on and you can feel the potential there, but it’s just not realized enough.

My first encounter with this distillery was a solid, friendly and rather sweet dram. Not the most complex, but fair value for its price.

I think it is wonderful in its league. Easy malt, with that Japanese freshness. I can see why people say it is too light or uninteresting. 'Overengineered.'

A very good nas introductory malt whisky to its distillery, I can only complain about its price. Quite complex and unique in style, like a grassy and salty Clynelish/Deanston. Hats off Hakushu, really well done!!

Herbal, minty nose. Marine air, crustaceans. Mouth erased, fresh. Slight salinity. Lack of vigor. Short final, herbaceous and peppery.

A very affordable and quaffable Japanese dram.

A lovely Spring/Summer whisky. Minty tropical fruits. A very tidy well made whisky. Good price

Complex

On itself a nice dram but the alcohol keeps coming through which lessered my experience.

extraordinary melon nose and taste. taste of melon not as strong as the nose.

On the one hand this is both available and relatively affordable, which for Japanese whisky in 2017 is sadly unusual. On the other, this Hakushu doesn't offer the depth, complexity or indeed balance of its 12 year old sibling. This said, as an introduction to Japanese whisky you could certainly do worse than this. Don’t be afraid to give it a go in a highball (with soda) or as a Mizuwari (with water). Full tasting notes: https://www.thedramble.com/tastings/hakushu/hakushu-distillers-reserve/

Conclusion: appetizing, interesting, sweet-smoky whisky. Rating: 84 (n22, t20, f21, b21)

Smell: Almost no need for sobering up, the alcoholic feeling is minimal, the main notes are a lot of dense creamy and sweet and sour canned fruits (yellow peach/pear/melon), very fresh & pleasing. In the background, there is a taste that is easy to capture but not easy to distinguish, similar to bamboo, leaves, grass, this combination makes people feel very clean & pleasant. Very few other fine flavors. Drink: The wine is light and full, and a refreshing sensation like mint wraps the entire mouth. I would like to describe it as a burning sensation, but it is indeed different. The main tone is the smell of oak barrels. Ganzhong ended. Sense: DB once said that if you describe Scotch whisky as a mountain stream, then Japanese whisky is a lake of clear water. I believe that this does not mean that the flavor of Japanese whisky is very light. But when you are tasting Scotch whisky, you will never know what will happen next, and Japanese whisky is to show all the flavors in front of you, quiet and frank.