Visited the Tokyo International Bar Show WHISKY LIVE 2014

I attended the second day of the Tokyo International Bar Show WHISKY LIVE 2014, held at Prism Hall in Shinjuku from September 20th to 21st. I'll briefly share some of the bottles that left an impression during my visit. First, I participated in a blind tasting at Whisky One's booth right upon entering. For sample A, I guessed Benriach 16 years but the correct answer was Benriach 12 years. For sample B, I thought Springbank 15 years but it was actually Hazelburn. Particularly for B, I had expected a more peaty Springbank based on the sherry cask direction and peat characteristics, but it was surprisingly Hazelburn. Although Hazelburn and Springbank are both malts from the same distillery, I had never sensed peat in Hazelburn before, so it was a bit of a surprise. Has Hazelburn also become more peaty like recent Bank malts? Incidentally, I haven't introduced Hazelburn on this blog at all yet. It might just be my lack of experience. (laughs) Next, I tasted this year's Alan and Springbank for the bar show but forgot to take photos. (laughs) Alan had a distinct tropical fruit nuance, reminiscent of recent appealing Alans, which left a strong positive impression. Springbank had bourbon cask characteristics upfront but was a very fruity bottle with less peat and no woody notes, evoking the elegance of classic Springbank. Both seem reasonably priced, and personally I think they're worth buying. Next, at Samaroli's booth, I tried Bunahabhain and a blended whisky labeled 1980. The Bunahabhain 1974-2014 was a cask strength with around 40 years aging, showing strong fruity notes. It lacked the typical Bunahabhain character but had a diverse range of estery, peach, and loquat flavors. The intoxicating fruity aroma was very appealing despite the over 70,000 yen price tag. However, I felt it differed from Samaroli's traditional heavier style. The blended 1980 had good grain notes with ripe fruit, oily creaminess, and a rich banana milk-like flavor. It was also delicious. At Shin'ya's booth, I received a sample of their upcoming Alan. This was a 9-year-old sherry hogshead from 2004 distillation. The strong sherry character masked any greenness, resulting in a well-crafted malt. Given its short aging, the price seems reasonable and the bottling concept was clear. At Kirin's booth, I tasted their highly discussed Mizunaka Single Grain 25 years. It had an elegant Irish-like oily, smooth texture with tropical fruits and was very delicious. I recall Mizunaka's grain being made using a bourbon-style still rather than the typical continuous one. The robust body might stem from their unique production method preserving raw material characteristics. Despite the over 30,000 yen price tag, it was delicious and I'm grateful they provided a free sample. At San'yō's booth, the peated Annachie (Nock & Doocot) was a bit surprising. I learned for the first time that Nock & Doocot had peated spirit. The bottles were named 'Router' (left) and 'Floater' (right), with Router being the heavier peated version. Both were fruity peated malts, especially Router smelled so much like a fruity refill cask Lagavulin that I might have guessed it blindly. It tasted like a slightly bodiless fruity Laphroaig. I felt the relationship was similar to 1992 Ardbeg in relation to 1990s Bowmore. This bottle made me imagine many blind tasting faces, but it sold out immediately upon entering Japan. I'd love to buy a bottle and explore its nuances if possible. Other highlights included using the tasting glass designed by Sozu (Yoshimura Sozu) at Scomore's booth for blind tasting, and chatting with Teruya-san from Suko Bunka Kenkyu while buying a new book. Besides his books, it felt like the Japanese whisky scene was getting excited for NHK's upcoming morning drama 'Matsan' (The Matsushita Story). At this event, I met people I'd wanted to meet before. Given my usually narrow activity range, such events are great opportunities. Meeting many readers of this blog was both embarrassing and motivating. Thank you all for the enjoyable time.