Shizuoka Contact S

Overall rating
87.66/100
votes
50
Whiskybase ID
WB194426
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie
Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Bottled
2021
Stated Age
03 years old
Casktype
Bourbon
Number of bottles
5000
Strength
55.5 % Vol.
Size
700 ml
Barcode
4571511620088
Market
Japan Japan
Added on
26 oct 2021 2:10 pm by maltaholic
UncoloredNon-chillfiltered

Average value

€ 344.03

27 × in wishlist

50 × member ratings

267 × in collection

Whisky reviews for Shizuoka Contact S

14 users have left 14 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 87.66 points.

  1. thijs100 scored this whisky 87 points Connoisseur

    I prefer the Prologue K over the Shizuoka Contact S, but not by much. The Prologue K is a little richer and darker, while the Contact S is more vibrant
    • Nose
      Highlighted by light, gentle wood smoke with earthy notes, but also sweet caramel, grilled mangoes and stewed apples. I also get nectarines and peaches from the Shizuoka Contact S, as well as some clever farmy notes and a touch of fennel.
    • Taste
      Great oily mouthfeel. A peppery arrival with creamy vanilla, earthy smoke and sandal wood, as well as tobacco. Water brings out whispers of gingerbread, smoked malt and sweet dulce de leche. There are whispers of orange peel and lychees, but it's certainly not as fruity as the nose.
    • Finish
      More of the above and pretty long too.

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  3. TomP scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      85 85

  4. FluidSunshine scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      88 88

  5. cloudyweedram scored this whisky 80 points Expert Senior

    The offsite website of Shizuoka is almost the most informative of Japanese distilleries, and gives more substance compare with other new distilleries. This shows confidence and real passion. On the other hand it is hilarious to note that, e.g. 90% of the narratives about Yoichi by Nikka and Hakushu are the same...

    Golden straw hue. Oily, thin legs, and quite fast flow.

    Overall comment? Brutal...
    • Nose
      82 82
      Very welcoming thick whiff of sandalwood, cream soda, some varnishes. Water opened up some bready, yeasty, estery notes, and apricots.
    • Taste
      79 79
      Quite some kicks in the tongue when neat. Gentler with water, but that also brought out more bitterness. There's indeed some rich yellow and stone fruits but the bitterness just overpowered everything. The body is also quite thin.
    • Finish
      78 78
      Strong bitter melon kind of bitterness, which is dry and tannic. Molten Panadol washed away the little peanut oil. Lot of plastics too.

  6. dram-drinker scored this whisky 87 points Photo Moderator

    Quite strong flavors, almost artificial
    • Nose
      88 88
      Plenty of vanilla, ripe apple, pineapple, banana, coconut, condensed milk, whiff of solvent, candy, marzipan - not bad
    • Taste
      87 87
      Oily, creamy, vanilla, coconut, subtle sweetness, spices, herbs, woody notes, liquorice, hint of honey
    • Finish
      86 86
      Medium long, warm, spices, herbs, vanilla

  7. Dram Dracula scored this whisky 90 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      Love the nose. It's full of dense, aromatic notes. It doesn't overwhelm you with pungency like many other super young whiskies would. Quite balanced actually. Vanilla, gentle peat, and young pears. Salted butter. Mild hints of chalk and varnish but they're beautifully enveloped.
    • Taste
      A bit of a rough mouthfeel initially, likely due to its youth, but the quality is totally there. Again, very dense and viscous, which points to its quality distillate, which of course bodes very well for the future when this is aged more. Tasting this, I know it's almost a cliche to say this tastes soooo "Japanese", but I can taste a bit of Hanyu, Chichibu, and of course, Karuizawa in this. Their profiles are some of my favorite in the whisky world.
    • Finish
      90 points from start to finish. I know probably some are hesitant to score this 90 points because of its youth, but oh boy, this is just excellent. Considering procuring another bottle, but I think I'll just wait for a different bottling from this super promising distillery.

  8. wisekyofcourse scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

    A mixture of the 2 stills for this result:
    nose:
    toasted, woody, salted butter caramel, sour apples, peaches, almonds and banana
    fine smoke and mild spices
    stuffy:
    it's spicier, more caramelized woody, on a bourbon with cooked vanilla, more bitterness too, the return stings more
    cut stems of sap, wood again and the bitterness becomes astringent, the smoke gives way to cold ashes
    final:
    toasted more than smoky, fruity, woody, bitter for a monolithic spicy finish.

  9. Mark-E scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      86 86

  10. Baanaanaabob scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    Honey, yellow fruits, citrus, bit of smoke, pears, apples, vanilla, custard cream, mango, cinammon, condensed milk, really promising

  11. whisky_knight scored this whisky 70 points Expert Senior

    This 3rd bottle from Shizoka Distillery, combining the output from both their Pot Still K (ex-Karuizawa) and Pot Still W (Wood-Fired), Contact S, Aged 3 Years in First Fill Bourbon Casks and Quarter Casks is an interesting concept and it makes sense. The distillery started with releasing a bottle of only their Pot Still K output, and one for their Pot Still W separately. Those 2 bottles showed some different characteristics and you could see the uniqueness of both.

    This bottle is a good example of the neck pour being markedly worse than the rest of the bottle. Sometimes 1 dram isn’t enough to accurately gauge a release, and it was the case here with Shizuoka Contact S. The first pour from the neck yielded a pretty disappointing impression. Thankfully it improved quite a bit by the middle of the bottle.

    In this new Contact S bottling, by combining both Pot Stills together, initially it somehow feels more generic and one note. It’s very spicy (more than the previous Prologue K and Prologue W), feels more unbalanced, has less interesting notes (rather straightforward) and isn’t a very sweet dram at all (not that I need it to be). However, halfway through the bottle, and it improves: There’s slightly better integration with the alcohol (but still too spicy and rough), there are salted toffee notes, it’s rounder, richer, more robust. The new wood feels like it blends in more.

    Ultimately, bottling a release at just 3 years feels like it’s just too rushed and too young at this point, but I hold out hope for the distillery based on their previous Prologue bottles, and the way they’re making whisky in general (building their own washbacks with a local artisan, using Japanese Cedar (and Douglas Fir), working with local farmers to eventually use 100% Japanese Barley grown locally, etc.). The Contact S bottle does improve over time and by the time you get halfway through the bottle, so I’m thankful for that.
    • Nose
      69 69
      Red apples, baked apple tart, vanilla, honey. No ABV burn on the nose, despite the 55.5% ABV (111 Proof). Very distant bonfire, barely noticeable.

      Halfway through the bottle: Green apples, white wine, vanilla, honey. Still some very distant bonfire smoke (gentle).
    • Taste
      75 75
      Medium coating mouthfeel. Immediate ginger spike at the front, you can feel the 55.5% ABV. It remains spicy through the finish. This feels too young initially. Ripe apples, light peat and smokiness, it’s a clean smoke (not medicinal).

      2nd Dram: Apple cinnamon spice, prickly ginger still throughout the entire palate. It’s too spicy. Fresh cut lumber, wood bitterness mixed with dusty peat.

      (5 drops): Softer, thinner. Ginger is still present, but less spikey, but you still feel the heat. Baked apples instead of ripe apples. Smoky peat, dustiness is more apparent with water as well. Still notes of wood and oakiness, but less bright.

      Halfway through the bottle: Things really improve and change. The ginger spike is still present, but there’s now salted toffee, an appealing salty sweetness, gentle smoke integrating better (again, very subtle). The baked apples are still there, and the drams are tasting rounder, still with some wood bitterness.
    • Finish
      67 67
      Long, primarily due to the ginger heat. Some trailing distant smokiness, new cut lumber. Oakiness.

      Halfway through the bottle: In addition to the ginger, Granny Smith apples, trailing gentle smoke (clean), fresh wood bitterness.

  12. g2ther scored this whisky 85 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      85 85
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      84 84

  13. geriud scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      86 86
    • Finish
      85 85

  14. Hvdree scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      86 86
    • Finish
      85 85

  15. KyotoLefty scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    Appearance: Bright, deep gold.

    Nose: Juicy stone fruits, honey, vanilla, spicy.

    Palate: Sweet, nectarine and apricot, lightest of smoke, very spicy.

    Finish: Boozy. Spicy, with deep stone fruits, raisins, light smoke.

    With Water: Necessary at this strength. More oak and more peat come out.

    Overall: Lovely fruit and malt sweetness. Complex and delicious. Love the stone fruit. Best official release yet. ¥

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