Drinks by the Dram - Japanese Whisky Tasting Set

A lovely Christmas present last year was a @DrinksByTheDram Japanese Whisky Tasking Set

Five bottles from the Far East to try!

Arriving in the normal DbtD box with a lovely grey sleeve were five 30ml bottles, not the same ones as currently listed on their website but they do say contents may vary. I'd only actually tried two of these before so was interested in exploring the others.

Mars comes from the Shinshu distillery, founded in 1985 and the owners of Japan’s highest distillery at 800 meters above sea level in the Japanese Alps. The distillery was temporarily mothballed from 1992 until 2012.

Yoichi distillery is owned by the Nikka company, built in 1934 it still used direct coal fired stills.

Kaikyo distillery was built in 2017, next door to the Akashi Sake Brewery, named after the oldest stone lighthouse in Japan, it produces gin and blended whiskies while awaiting its probable future homemade single malt.

Miyagikyo distillery is owned by the Nikka company, built in 1969 it produces both single malt and single grain whisky.

Let's see how their whiskies taste:

Dram	Mars Kasei Blend	Yoichi Nikka Days Blend	Kaikyo Hatozaki Blended	Yoichi Single Malt	Miyagikyo Single Malt
Characteristics	40% ABV Coloured	40% ABV	Sherry bourbon and Mizunara oak 40% ABV Natural colour, NCF	45% ABV	45% ABV
My thoughts:
Appearance
	(Coloured) Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thin legs.	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and eventually fall as slow thin legs.	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Orchard fruit to start: apples, pears, apricots and a little plum. There's some floral notes here too - maybe a little vegetal? A hint of smoke as you move the glass away from your nose.	Orange juice, a hint of lemon zest and some stewed apples. There's a lovely berry note here too - hint's of a sherry cask? A little Pritt Stick glue, mint and some vanilla.	Huge grain notes on this one: buttered popcorn, vanilla, rum & raisin ice cream. There's a new make edge to this one, the colour suggesting it's young or hasn't had much wood influence. A little salinity.	Gentle smoke gives way to orchard fruit and meadow grass. There's apples and apricots. There's salted lemon zest, liquorice and hints of spice to come.	Orchard fruit to the fore: pears, apricots, peaches and a little plum. A little honey and some icing sugar adds sweet notes alongside a gentle toasted coconut hint.
Palate	Thin sweet arrival: honey and golden syrup. A little note of smoke and a bite of gingery spice. The orchard  fruit from the nose come through alongside a little bitter oak. There's a dryness as the liquid disappears.	Another sweet thin arrival, not as sweet as the Mars. This all orchard fruit and citrus. Vanilla ice cream and a little strawberry sauce maybe sprinkled with some chopped hazelnuts? A little dry, chalky even with a gentle peppery spice as the liquid disappears.	Thick creamy arrival, surprising for 40% but it is NCF. The buttered popcorn and rum & raisin ice cream from the nose are back alongside honey, caramel and a lovely gingery spice. Some tropical fruit notes. This must be a higher % grain than malt but it's yummy!	Thick dry arrival, smoke and spice to start. The orchard fruit from the nose has turned a little tropical. There's a lovely citrus bite and a gentle gingery spice here too. A little fruit and nut chocolate rounds things off.	Again thick, dry and smoky, this one with a strange astringent note. The orchard fruit from the nose are back along with the honey. A little caramel replaces the dry icing sugar - this is a juicy rather than dry dram. A lovely ginger spice tingles the lips as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Medium length sweetness and orchard fruit with a little citrus.	Medium length dry and sweet with a little citrus.	Short and dry with buttered popcorn and a little gingery spice.	Short and dry with tropical fruit, smoke and citrus.	Short and dry with tropical fruit, ashy smoke and citrus.
Overall	To be honest the Mars Kasei and Yoichi Nikka Days Blends were very ordinary - probably more suited to long drinks with mixers rather than as stand alone drams. I thought the Hatozaki would fall into the same category but it was surprisingly different. It might be 'only' the same 40% ABV but it hadn't been chill filtered so retaining a huge mouthfeel component. I don't know the exact grain : malt ratio but I think the grain was fairly high and apart from a hint of new make made this a lovely dram to drink - probably my favourite of the set. The Yoichi and Miyagikyo single malts were nice drams, the former being dryer and having a bit more smoke, the latter more juicy and spicy. As a set of Japanese Whiskies, these are obviously at the lower cost end of the market - Japanese whisky is now a rare commodity and older, age statemented bottles command high prices. I remember buying a bottle of 10yo Yamazaki, early in my whisky journey, in a supermarket for less that £50... I don't think I'd buy bottles of any of these. A nice set from Drinks by the Dram giving you a chance to try 5 Japanese bottlings but I think they could have done a little better with the choices.

Many thanks to @MrsMaltMusings for the present!

The Japanese writing on the top right of the box? Well according to Google Translate is says whisky!