I haven't had the best experiences with asian whisky yet although I must admit there have been occasions where some Japanese single malts and whiskies from Amrut Distillery in India has impressed me. Maybe one of these whiskies can turn out to be a wild card as I'm about to explore more whiskies from other parts of the world.
Grand Royal 43% Myanmar(Burma)
OK, is this a whisky? The label states "Premium Quality Malt Whisky Matured in Oak Casks", all right, so far... Furter reading shows "...Produced from imported whisky concentrate and high quality potable alcohol." So what this means is that the spirit, which should be malted barley, referencing first quote, is then again mixed with whisky concentrate imported from well, possibly anywhere whisky is made. This is again mixed with "potable spirit" meaning just an alcoholic beverage made for consumption, again referencing to first quote, it should be malt. I do not know enough of this to conclude on anything, but the back label says it's "Proudly bottled by Myanmar Winery & Distillery Co. under technical supervision of International Experts." Please, if anyone have further details of what this is made of, please e-mail me. Grand Royal is also the first whisky ever to be exported from the Republic of the Union of Myanmar a.k.a. Burma. Light color, apple cider. The nose is very light and fruity, aperitif style, minty and flour sugar, not much more, but it has none of the off-notes that I've sometimes found in strange whiskies from the Himalayan outback, Sikkim Gold anyone? The taste is mild, sweet, minty, herbal, linseeds and green tea. A pleasant surprise, and far from the train-wreck one could've anticipated. It has something of Loch Lomond going one, and its far from matured long enough. But it has some charm in al its simplicity.
Well made aperitif, I'd have tonic water and a piece of lemon with this one: 4
Jade Supremacy Taiwan Whisky
I don't know the strength on this one as it's all a bunch of asian letters other than the statement "Smooth and Rich - Distilled, Blended and Bottled in Taiwan". And it was bottled 28.10.2010, as I hope it isn't the expiry date. I have some Kavalan single malts I'm gonna try down the road, but for my first Taiwanese whisky adventure I thought I'd have something with a bit more traditionally charged name. The smell is kind of stale, burnt rubber and old coffee. The taste is peppery and almost peaty. Sweet and burnt, but the aftertaste is just plain spirity.
Like a low-shelf blend: 2.5
Super Nikka NAS 43%
Japanese Blend, I don't think I've tried too many of these. It's a fancy decanter at least. It smells of light flintiness, sort of dry but not drying, if you get what I mean? There aren't much too it. Light and easy with some cream and caramel toffee. A sweet treat? Dessert blend? The taste is sweet and toffee-ish, with a bitter licorice and school eraser bite. Again dry, but not like sherry-dry or anything, just that it doesn't bring anything assembling fruitiness, oak or even malt, just like some kind bitters. Genever? Stroh? The aftertaste is light and toasted, like some toasted wheat bread and salty butter. One to take in big mouthfuls as if sipped the taste is just too short/light to get a real glimpse of.
Light, easy, like any other blend: 5
The Blend of Nikka 45%
Another japanese blend from Nikka, now up 2%abv more and with the label statement of "Maltbase whisky" will this be a more powerful and malty whisky? Another fancy decanter, this time a square one, slightly darker than the Super. The nose is a bit more phenolic, salty, cotton, cinnamon and burnt grease. The taste is dry and peppery, again not as complex as I'd hoped. A rather easy whisky with a firm peppery style, reminds me a bit of some of the archetypal Mortlachs I've tried. The aftertaste is also peppery and keeps on the same note till the end. A one-dimensional blend, but the taste is well up there amongst some of the standard malts around.
Peppery style from start to finish: 5.5
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