Shizuoka 2019 4 Years Single Malt Whisky

Whiskyspace Notes 1776

Jun 23, 2026, 11:51:32

Ah, that’s a proper one. Starts a bit dirtier, almost like a wood-fired still’s left its mark. Pears and fermenting fruits lurk about, then—bam—varnish in the aftertaste, dancing with pars like old mates. Water brings out the oils, thicker, greasier. Little smokiness, a whiff of menthol tobacco, and that camphor… exceptional stuff. Feels deeper, less in-your-face. Close to the wash but not quite. Philosophical, this one. 🍐✨

Kevin Morgan

May 27, 2026, 05:22:04

刚打开这瓶威士忌，第一口就觉出点咸味，比其他的要咸不少，像海风拂过舌头。闻起来居然有股白葡萄酒的清香，混着香草荚的甜，但喝下去酯味炸开，让我瞬间想起Led Zeppelin的'Achilles Last Stand'那么带劲 🎸。 余味特长，有点脏脏的，像被什么污染过似的，还带着油漆和模型漆的味道，仿佛酒瓶刚被谁用Varnish & Varnish's的漆刷过。偶尔能尝到橄榄——黑橄榄和绿橄榄都有，加上点海蓬子的咸鲜，整体umami很足，但又酸得像白醋，有点冲。 这酒感觉不是加勒比那边的，绝对不是牙买加或特立尼达风格，倒像个混血儿，既粗犷又精致，让我联想到武士道精神和坂本龙一的音乐那么深沉 🎹。喝着喝着，嘴里还飘过香蕉蛋糕和灯油的余韵，甚至有点发酵的渣滓味，怪但有趣。 总之，这酒有点acetic，几乎像细菌在发酵，又带点木火蒸馏器的烟熏。喝完后，嘴里留的味道像交叉了Predator和法国极左派领袖的风格——太奇特了！ 😮

Alexa Robinson

May 27, 2026, 05:21:29

Blimey, this dram's got a real dirtiness to it, closer to the wash – which, honestly, feels like an obvious asset. It's thicker, with fermenting fruits jumping out, and a bit of varnish in the aftertaste that lingers. Mentholly cool, almost philosophical how it unfolds. Drop of water and wham, more reactions: tiny touches of meats, a little smokiness. The oils make it greasier, very long finish, a tad riper, and mate, the pears are everywhere! 😊

Anna Williams

May 26, 2026, 05:36:58

Proper odd dram this one 😅 Smells like green olives, vinegar, overripe banana cake and a bit of paint shed. Quite salty, a bit funky, almost like dirty rum by the seaside. Taste is sharp, briny and really savoury — olives, samphire, white wine vinegar, fermenty banana. Weirdly clean but also grubby at the same time. Finish goes on ages: salty, oily, a wee bit varnishy, and very umami. Not cosy, but definitely memorable 🥃

Lauren Hunter

May 26, 2026, 05:20:44

Popped this one open last night. Colour’s a proper full gold, glinting in the glass like polished bronze. Nose hit me first with this thick, herbal, almost menthol tobacco whiff — reminds me of old rolling tobacco left too long in a tin with a menthol filter, if you know the sort. There’s a definite ripe pear thing underneath, but it’s a dirtier pear, almost stewed, not fresh off the tree. My first scribble just said “oils and varnishes,” and I wasn’t wrong. Sniff deeper and you get this furniture polish edge, not unpleasant, more like an old workshop. Tasting it neat… chewy, isn’t it? Thicker body than I expected. That herbal-baccy thing rolls right across the tongue, then the aftertaste leaves a cracked varnish note that lingers for ages. It’s right there with something raw and grain-forward, almost closer to the wash than the spirit in some ways, proper unpolished charm. Added a few drops of water and the whole thing shifted. Pears came out more, slightly sweeter, but the mouthfeel got oilier — coating, almost waxy. The back end turned a bit more profound, deeper, with the herbal note getting greener. Strange one though, the varnish in the finish didn’t vanish, just tucked itself behind the fruit. The lad at the tasting kept going on about the ex-Karuizawa still being used here, and yeah, you can see why — there’s a whisper of that style, a certain weight and an obvious asset to the spirit’s backbone. Then he poured a sister dram from two wee casks of Shizuoka and we all were like “so close and yet so different.” Both had their own respective merits, these oily, varnish-thick characters, but this one stayed dirtier, the other cleaner. I’d probably repeat the same comments from tonight if I tried them blind next week. Funny how water changes them both, but this one stays more stubborn, more raw. Worth a second dram.