As part of Tom Thomson’s plan to make the SMWS take over the world (rightly), he arranged a bottleshare of their recent release, “A Japanese Duo”, containing the following:
132.2 (Karuizawa) – Stunning Panorama of Exotic Fruits. 22yo refill sherry, 335 bottles, 62.4% (!)
131.2 (Hanyu) – Magic Carpet in a Sweetie Shop. 13yo first fill sherry, 646 bottles, 55.1%
131.2 is still available for £159.30, 132.2 was only available in the pair for £300. They’re both blockbusters, with the 131 being a real glugger, the 132 more complex and challenging. 132 is my favourite due to that complexity and an unstoppable nose. £300 for the pair is something of a bargain, and 10cl of each isn’t enough! Big thanks to Tom for setting this up.
SMWS 132.2 (Karuizawa) – Stunning Panorama of Exotic Fruits, 62.4% A⊕+
Nose – Dark, red fruit and old lacquer, a bit of wham bar, cracked nuts, new leather handbag and furniture polish. Darkly sweet nose, some sherried savour, lots of complexity and confidence, elegance and authority. A deeply addictive nose.
Body – Spicy, smooth and rich malt, great wood presentation, some chocolate. Rich, balanced sweetness and spicy wood structure. Really lovely. Very bold, very strong.
Finish – Long, lovely wood integration, no bitterness. A fine old lady.
What's not good about it: Nothing.
What’s good about it: Complex, authoritative, really great wood and fruit in the nose, lovely sugar. Balanced and bold.
131.2 (Hanyu) – Magic Carpet in a Sweetie Shop, 55.1% A⊕+
Nose – Rich but fresh cereal sweetness, but not nutty. Dark, dusty raisins and a savoury note (like cooked porridge?). Some chocolate. Flawless sherry intensity, some boiled sweets. More chocolate. The longer this goes on, the more interesting and chocolatey this becomes. Very good.
Body – Sweet, light, spicy, malty cereal. Rich and well balanced, with a big backing of juicy malt. As it opens up you get deep but bright orangey wood. Lovely, lovely palate.
Finish – Quite short unfortunately – no problems but a bit a letdown. All is forgiven for this complex, juicy whisky.
What's not good about it: Finish a bit short, takes a while to open up.
What’s good about it: Rich, juicy, totally approachable – a fabulous whisky. Loads of structure and complexity.
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