Bean Spilling the Beans on Hakushu 12:

A whisky so refined even my discerning terrier nose gives an approving snuffle at this elegant beauty which is as spirited as a summer breeze and just as delightful. Born amidst Japan’s forest-cloaked Southern Alps at the Hakushu Distillery, this golden elixir captures the essence of misty mornings and mountain breezes threaded with the delicate complexity of the dogtooth violet and pheasant eye blossoms that adorn the hillside each year.

The Hakushu 12 sashays onto the palate with a crisp brightness. Like a sun-drenched beach vacation in a glass - bursting with tropical fruit notes and a faint thread of a distant beach bonfire. Or the canine equivalent for me: running through the Mendocino pines, chasing a squirrel…if that squirrel were made of malt and dignity.

At a thoughtful, rather than impulse, price-point, this dram will deliver at and above expectations. Pedigreed and elegant, it is still able to bring an extra sublayer of whimsy…so put those opposable thumbs to good use and pour yourself a taste.