SMWS–A Japanese Duo Tweet Tasting

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.