A Spirited Point of View

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View Japanese Convenience Store Whisky - Nikka Black Clear (#30)

I have to hand it to Nikka, they do make pretty solid budget blends. It's just a shame that its only 37%.

#nikka #japanese #whisky

youtu.be/j6hYv_Jl6sY

New arrivals in the mail from Japan!

#nikka #japan #japanesewhisky #shochu #whisky

Raasay is good, but not £90 good... The industry isn't paying attention to the trends...

Asian clam. They're used in a lot of seafood soups and stews here in Korea

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View Barrel Aged Agricole Rum - Saint James XO (#25)

This might just be my favorite bottle from my collection. It's not a whisky...but an aged rhum agricole.

Complex and decadent, holy cow this rum has so much going for it! It drinks like a well aged speysider with oodles of layers to it.

youtu.be/WLxCIQWbZm8

#rum #rhum #agricole #saintjames

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View A Taste of Orkney - Picti Coast (#23)

The Picti Coast by the Islay Boys is an interesting dram. Can't quite figure out if it is a Highland Park or a Scapa. I lean towards the latter because I've never had a HP that was this briny, but that said, I've never had a <12Y HP. Could be the young spirit.

youtu.be/sRB-WCsteek

#scotch #whisky

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View From the Founders of Spanish Brandy - Fundador Sherry Cask (#21)

It's probably the sherry cask aging that does it, but I find Spanish Brandy de Jerez to be a very easy category of spirit to get into for a Scotch drinker. It's also crazy affordable compared to French brandies! (At least over here...)
Keep exporting Spain!

youtu.be/oMGzPYqQgFU

#brandy #review

Seoul Bar and Spirits Show for sure, and possible the Seoul Wine and Spirits exibition, but that one is a nightmare to get tickets for post covid.

About twice a year I make cider and though I always do a wee bit of experimenting with the recipe, this is my first time doing the fermenting in a clay vessel (Hangari). Usually they're used for brewing Makgeolli / rice wine.

I get that feeling from the Quinta Ruban 14 too. The old QR12 from Glenmorangie was phenomenal and while the 14 is perfectly decent as a sipper, it doesn't have the same wow factor that its predecessor had.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View An Islay Based Blend on a Budget - Black Bottle (#20)

Admittedly, I've never had the good fortune of trying the old Black Bottle, but I do like the modern iteration of it for what it is. Mostly sweet, but it does have a nice little bit of salinity and spice to give it some dimension. One of the better budget blends IMO.

youtu.be/Ov10HPUCRW0

#whisky

Or as they called it in the past..."medicine"

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View The Cuban Workhorse - Havana Club 3 Year old Añejo Rum (#19)

For its price it's not a bad rum. Havana club is a good mixer, but it can also be sipped in a pinch. It even reminds me quite a bit of Barratts foam bananas from when I was a kid. Big artificial banana with some herbal notes.

youtu.be/xBEwZEb1F0o

#rum #rumreview #havanaclub

I woudnt say it's overproduction in their case. That part doesn't apply to them, but they do have a tendency to repeat the exact same patterns as the newer scotch distilleries by flooding the market with as many overpriced mediocre releases in rapid succession, usually STR/V. oak, then cask finished

To continue on that thought..And then a new distillery appears and does the same 3 year thing, but they then become the new fad until a new distillery replaces them and becomes the next fad.

The whisky industry in its current form reminds me of the Chicken shop fad that hit Korea in the 2010s.

I feel that this also applies to a lot of the new world whiskies too, sadly. The part about a 3 year old release to the domestic market followed by a 3 year old release to international markets and then another 3 year old release in a different cask....yeah that is unfortunately a thing.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View France's OTHER Brandy - Père Magloire Calvados VSOP Islay Cask (#18)

Calvados is one of those spirits I have a bit of a soft spot for outside of whisky!

When offered the chance to try it from an Islay barrel, I jumped at it. The smoke is wispy and takes it down a slightly more medicinal path than the typical calvados.

youtu.be/KhlIBzl0nv4

#calvados #France #brandy

I can't wait to eventually get back to Japan and try their releases. I had a sample of their one year old spirit at Bar Bota in Otaru just before Covid hit and it was special even then.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View Rye for Sipping? - Ezra Brooks Straight Rye (#17)

Overall a pretty tasty MGP sourced rye from Lux Row Distillers. I think this might be the 51% rye, 45% corn, 4% malted barley mashbill. It does have the spicy characteristics I would normally associate with rye, but it was sweeter than I expected!

youtu.be/eu6su991trY?...

#rye #whisky #whiskey

They released it over here in South Korea last year as part of M&H's push into the asian markets, but unfortunately it didn't sell well here.

I think they would definitely benefit from making appearances at the summer whisky festival in Korea too!

Back in the day, the nighttime streets of Seoul were full of shitfaced businessmen and English teachers KO'd on the sidewalks of the nightlife districts after one two many bottles of the devil's water.

The average whisky consumer is priced out of buying these bottles until a sale hits. Don't get me wrong, this is really good stuff, but I would never have taken a chance at the retail price.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View Whisky for Winter - M&H Christmas Treat

Merry Christmas!

I picked this M&H release up at a christmas sale and it's really good stuff. It's got a wonderful complexity to it and I almost ran out of space for my on screen notes! But it sums up my biggest problem with new distilleries (see comments)

youtu.be/OF79soyf7Es

#whisky #whiskey

"A Christmas Pissup" by Charles Dickels

Yeah it definitely feels like they are riffing on JD with their bottle design and labelling. Ezra Brooks is another one I saw using the same design.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View Oak and Spice, and All Things Nice - Evan Williams Black label (#15)

When I was younger, there were only really two "bourbons" that you could get back home & here in Korea. "Jack & Jim". Neither were great, but the former was fine in coke. It's only in recent years this one appeared.

Similar price, but a lot more character.
youtu.be/k43OWV8lOg4
#whiskey #bourbon

I admire their enthusiasm, but yeah...it's a bold strategy to open a distillery when some are already teetering on the brink.

A lot of these cheap bottom shelf sojus basically have the same or similar taste profile of Alcohol + Sweetener.

This one tries to be different. I can respect that. They added back in a little bit of unfermented barley and rice solution and it does have a positive effect.

YouTube video by A Spirited Point of View The Lightest Soju - Sunyang Soju (#14)

This soju has been taking off pretty big in Korea over the past year as a low alcohol spirit thats about as strong as a South Italian Red wine.

Its actually pretty alright, all things considered. Especially for less than a dollar a bottle.
youtu.be/-53OE6Zvp3c

#soju #소주 #Korea #alcohol #술

Ardmore/ Ardlair perhaps? They are known to release PX matured casks to IBs