Overall rating
89.43/100
ratings
17
Whiskybase ID
WB11947
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)
Bottling series
A thousand flowers from a forest of tall trees
Vintage
12.1990
Bottled
2009
Stated Age
18 years
Cask Type
1st Fill Spanish Oak Butt
Cask number
120.4
Number of bottles
520
Strength
59.3 %
Size
700 ml
Added on
28 nov 2009 6:25 pm
UncoloredNon-chill FilteredCask StrengthSingle Cask Whisky
Photo by EMalt
Overall rating
89.43/100
ratings
17

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Whisky reviews for Hakushu 1990 SMWS 120.4

5 users have left 5 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 89.43 points.

Read the reviews
  1. Dram Dracula scored this whisky 91 points Connoisseur

    Tried this side by side with the Hakushu Spanish Oak 2021 edition 48%, which was excellent (91 pts).
    • Nose
      92 92
      Very deep and balanced. So so balanced, despite the huge ABV. Dark chocolates, dark coffee, fine tobacco, with notes of beautiful dried, dark fruits - elderberry, blackberry, blueberries. I'm a fan of the Japanese obsession with perfection. For an 18 year old, not sure if any modern sherried Scotch can match this sniff by sniff.
    • Taste
      91 91
      Very, very dry, but the juiciness is quite impressive, especially for a modern whisky. The strength may be a bit much, tbh, but shall we add some water? More minty now, and saltier. Takana and sesame seed on rice?
    • Finish
      90 90
      Excellent stuff. I wish I have a bottle of this so I can experiment more with water and time. Alas, for now, a 1 oz sample from a friend is more than adequate. Sigh...

      It's a tie between the Hakushu Spanish Oak 2021 and this. While this SMWS is more interesting and more complex, the OB 2021 was more approachable and delicious.

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