The Hakushu Single Malt Whisky was the greatest discovery of my trip to Japan in 2007: an absolutely brilliant whisky, fully on par with its elite American and Scotch peers.
Hakushu is produced by Suntory, the same conglomerate responsible for the better-known (and wonderful-in-its-own-right) Yamazaki single malt whisky brand. As of this writing, Yamazaki is the only Japanese single malt whisky exported to the USA – which means you won’t find Hakushu on the shelves in this country. (Suntory just started bringing us Hibiki, their best-known blended whisky, so some American whisky enthusiasts hope Hakushu will be next.)
While in Japan, I tried Hakushu in at least three different expressions: 10, 12, and 18 year old. At the time I preferred the 18, but the 12 year old was much more affordable and still great. So that’s what I brought home with me and opened this past week.
And boy, am I glad I did. Hakushu 12 Year Old is a wonderfully integrated tour of almost every flavor possible in a (Scotch-style) single malt whisky. You get pure malted barley, yeastiness, slight vanilla oak, some fresh flowers and grass, slight honey, and yes, more than a hint of peat. Hakushu is generally quite lean, verging on skeletal or clinical in how it presents itself. But it’s courageous. No tricks, nothing hiding behind too much wood, too much sherry, or too much smoke. With a plenitude of flavors in absolutely perfect balance and a texture just thick enough to hold it all together (but no thicker), Hakushu is elegant but not light, full but not oily, clean but not enervated.
What’s more, Hakushu’s distinct peat is not thick or heavy. While those familiar with Scotch might rightly compare Hakushu with Scotland’s island styles, Hakushu lacks the iodine character of a Laphroaig and the fusel oil texture of an Ardbeg. Hakushu’s peat smoke is less aggressive even than Bowmore’s, less peppery than Talisker’s, and less masked by wood or sherry than Highland Park’s. To my mind, Hakushu is an ideal way to discover peat flavor for the first time.
The late Michael Jackson (the much-loved beer and whisky critic, not the ex-husband of Priscilla Presley) once called Scotland’s Highland Park “the greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whisky,” but Hakushu gives Highland Park a run for its money.
If you would like to try Hakushu in the USA, then you’ll have to find an enterprising local bar manager, order from one of the more liberal British retailers or pick it up on a trip overseas. Don’t overpay – I would start getting skittish around eighty bucks, would skip it at a hundred – but do go out of your way to track it down. Hakushu is that good.
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