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Whisky Review: Hakushu 12-Year-Old Japanese Single Malt

We review Hakushu 12-Year-Old. After a long hiatus, this classic Japanese whisky is back on American shelves.

OVERALL RATING

8
$82.00
  • Scott Bernard Nelson is a writer, actor, and whiskey reviewer.
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Hakushu 12 Year

Tasting Notes

About:

Mash bill of 100% malted barley; aged 12 years; 86 proof/43% alcohol by volume; limited release in 2021; about $82 for a 750ml bottle if you live in a price-control state, but expect to pay significantly more in other states or on the secondary markets.
Appearance:
Golden and light, reminiscent of wet straw. Medium legs on the glass.
Nose:
Woodsmoke and the earthiness of peat hit you in the schnoz as soon as you open the bottle, so there’s no question this is a peated whisky. The magic is in the honeyed essence underneath the smoke and peat, however. This whisky made my mouth water as I thought of a crisp bite of apple on a fall day. Also orange peel and burnt, buttered toast.
Palate:
Whereas the first smell was strong and pungent, the first taste is easygoing and gentle – which might be partially attributable to the low alcohol content. I taste dried dates, parmesan cheese with a drizzle of honey, and, oddly, bacon-wrapped smoked pork. (That’s not a sentence I ever expected to write, or combination I ever expected to enjoy together.) The finish is medium long, which is where the spices come to the fore. The Hakushu eases into a relaxing blend of cinnamon and lemon zest.
Finish:
Comments:
The Hakushu Distillery sits at the foot of 9,700-foot-high Mount Kaikoma, and Suntory likes to call it the “Forest Distillery” for its natural surroundings and nearby spring water. I don’t have a large enough sample size to say yet whether that terroir, to use a wine term, makes an identifiable difference in the whisky that gets bottled. What I can say is that I enjoyed this single malt and am glad to see it back on store shelves in the United States. The price point, if you don’t live in a control state, might be a lot to swallow. But the whiskey itself isn’t; it’s smooth and easy and a nice port of entry into Japanese whiskies.rn

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Scott Bernard Nelson

Scott Bernard Nelson is a writer, actor, and whiskey reviewer based in Portland, Oregon. While currently working in higher education, he previously dedicated 22 years to journalism, covering impactful events such as 9/11 in Manhattan, crossing into Iraq with U.S. Marines, and contributing to The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of abuse in the Catholic Church, which inspired the film "Spotlight." Since 2019, Scott has shared his insights as a whiskey reviewer for The Whiskey Wash.  

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