Ichiro's Malt 1988 King of Diamonds

Tasted in Whisky Magazine Issue 56 by Martine Nouet and Dave Broom.

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Tasting Notes

Martine Nouet Nose Tangy (alcohol tickles nostrils). Lots of cereal notes. Cooked grains. Oatcakes. Cowshed. Creosote with fresh mint aromas. Lemon juice. Palate A very short sweet start, bursting out into a spicy circus of aromas. Quite sharp but challenging. Less creosote on the palate. Finish Concentrated, citrussy, minty and spicy. Comment Water undoubtedly tames the alcohol but alters the freshness and enticing natural sharpness of that bold whisky.

Dave Broom Nose Immediate complexity. Cheddar cheese, cream, but also a firm nutty quality. A touch of burlap, smoke and then with water it shifts into sandalwood, citrus, pineapple, pine. Palate Dances in the mouth, moving from spice into flowers then to smoke, which builds subtly. Finish Long, mixing spice and sweetness. Comment This has classic Japanese finesse (and excellent viscimetry). Great whisky is about balance and this has it...in diamonds, not spades.