Another bottle from the Whisky Exchange’s 10th Anniversary line. So far, I really enjoyed all of them except for the Amrut. Maybe it was my sample, but to me there seemed something wrong with it…

This Hakushu was one of the first bottles released and it scared me a bit, since the price was rather high. A 20 year old for about € 180 seemed a bit much. But, on the other hand, there aren’t that many rare private bottles from Hakushu.

I normally don’t comment on the color of a whisky, because it usually doesn’t say much, except about the colour. This one, however, looked like coffee.

Nose:
A massive amount of wood. This one did not come from wood, it was made of wood, it seems. Grass, pine needles, pine cones and resin. I get the feeling of walking into a sherry wood pine forest. Unripe banana and salty spices. Its an odd one, its rather crisp, but also brutally heavy.

Taste:
Very sharp (no surprise at 62%) but with a flavour explosion. It feels a bit sugary, but again, very woody and rather astringent. Quite viscous as well. There is a sweetnes in there, but the wood trumps it.

Finish:
The finish is nice with lots of different flavours. Wood, again. Spices, again, but also some furniture polish and burning insense.

This is a tough one. At first I thought I really liked it, but the wood impact is a bit too big for me. I think it overpowers most of the other flavours. This one might do with a bit of dillution. But apparently, many other people think it a tremendous whisky.

Hakushu 1989, 20yo, 62%, The Whisky Exchange 10th Anniversary, sold out.

Nose: 9
Taste: 6
Finish: 6
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: -1

Total: 27 points