Hanyu The Joker Colour Label Japanese Single Malt Whisky 70cl / 57.7%

The eagerly-anticipated final release from the Ichiro's Malt Card series bottlings from the closed Hanyu distillery. This is a vatting of six vintages (1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991 and 2000) from a total of seven types of cask (chibidaru, bourbon, Madeira, hogshead, Cognac, puncheon and sherry butt).

• APPEARANCE

  Dark caramel, copper/amber Nose: Soft caramel, polished brass, fragrant wood, cedar, so much depth. It’s waxy, rich, concentrated, stewed dried prunes and dates, bitter orange peel (dried), pink peppercorns, old leather. Given a bit more time to open up in the glass, a floral note kicks in, with some rose petals and Turkish delight in the background.

• PALATE

  Caramel, it starts quite soft, almost retrained, and slowly develops on your palate. There’s no big hit; it just slowly offers more and more over time. There’s ripe red and black fruits, blackberry, prune, fig, bitter orange peel, it’s rich but subtle. Grapefruit and dried citrus peel come forward after time.

• FINISH

  Seriously long. It’s warm, with that bitter citrus peel backed with blackberry, fig, and a subtle woody note.